When Power is a Weakness
by Tera253
Summary: When the amount of a person's concentrated power is too great for them to handle... ...it becomes their greatest weakness. Some people have to learn this the hard way, and usually, it's not by choice.
1. Chapter 1

Slight disclaimer before the story starts. This story takes place about 1300 years after Aang's time. The characters that are named Katara, Sokka, and Zuko are just people who happened to have the same names as those heroes. This is not Zuko, Sokka, or Katara from the show. That said, enjoy the series.

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_"When the amount of a person's concentrated power is too great for them to handle..._

_...it becomes their greatest weakness."  
_

CHAPTER 1

The Story of Katara Altina II and her family is not necessarily a happy one. Her parents, Zuko Altina and Katara Altina [formerly Katara Montoya] were an average family for the most part and already had had their first child, a healthy baby boy named Sokka, who judging from some of his chi patterns was going to be a waterbender. He was already 3 years old when this story picks up, because it was around this time that the lives of these three individuals changed forever; and all because of the birth of their 2nd child.

These three were all named after famous figures from a war nearly 1300 years ago called the 100-Year War, but the marriage between their parents who happened to bear those names was entirely coincidental. They were deciding on a name for their 2nd child, but little did they know that whatever name they chose for the little girl would become famous worldwide.

"She's beautiful," said Zuko, "she sort of looks like you, honey."

Katara smiled, "she sort of does," she remarked, "but I don't think she's a waterbender. Maybe it's just because our little Sokka is a waterbender that I predict this, but I'm not sure."

The doctor stepped in a second later, having heard this.

"The child is a firebender," he remarked, "and destined to be a very powerful one at that."

Both Zuko and Katara looked at him like he was crazy.

"She's only a few hours old," Katara exclaimed, knowing that signs of a bender usually did not show until around the ages of 2 or 3, "how in the Water Tribe's name do you know that this early?"

Katara was generally prone to heat exhaustion, and so living in the hotter parts of the Fire Nation was not very good for her. Zuko, who didn't mind the cold, was fine with her wanting to live in the Southern Water Tribe, and therefore that was where they lived, and where both Sokka and this little girl child were both born.

"She shows signs of large amounts of chi energy," the doctor replied, "in fact, I advise you to be very careful with her, as she is already a capable firebender."

"Capable firebender," Zuko exclaimed, "what in spirits does that mean?" Both of them looked and sounded frightened; "speak, Enik."

"It means," said the doctor [named Enik], "that she is already capable of firebending. When a bender is born, they are capable of bending, but usually lack the chi energy to do so. As they grow, they gain more chi energy until they reach a certain point, usually in their late teen years, where it peaks, and stops, and remains that way for the rest of their lives. Prodigies usually have more chi energy than other benders, but of course, raw chi energy does not equal skill, but merely capability."

"So what does this have to do with our little Katara," Zuko asked, naming the child on the spot [he had planned to name the child after his wife anyways after seeing the little girl's face, and so that girl's name became Katara Altina II]

"She is not a normal case," Enik replied bluntly, "she has excessive amounts of chi energy, and it is growing at an alarming rate. It's nothing dangerous now, but it might cause her trouble in the future if it is not controlled. If she can control it, she should lead a normal life, but controlling power as great as we predicted that it will become is going to be a very difficult task for her."

"That is what I'm here for;" Said Zuko steadfastly, mostly to Katara, "I will ensure that she grows up and remains in control of that power."

"There is one more thing," he said, "actually two; I think I need to end this on a positive note,"

"What is it," said Katara urgently, realizing that his initial "one thing" had to be bad if he decided to tack on another one to 'end on a positive note'; "what's wrong with my baby?"

"You may have noted that I said a bender's chi energy peaks at a certain age," said Enik, "it is because of a certain mechanism inside of a bender that makes it stop. Your child lacks that mechanism."

"What does that mean," said Zuko, slightly agitated, mostly because of the harsh, but true things being said about his newborn child,

"It means," said Enik, "that her bending energy will know no limits. It will be increasing, presumably at this same alarming rate—most likely until the end of her life. As a result, I do not think she will live long, and if those predictions of the comet's return in 16 years are true, she won't stand a chance. It will consume her alive."

"The Avatar," was Zuko's natural response, as he had heard the legends of the avatar being capable of giving or removing bending energy from a person; unfortunately, there was another catch.

"If the next avatar really is born when the last one dies," he said, "then unfortunately, the avatar is a 7-year-old child at the moment, and probably doesn't even realize that he or she is the avatar."

"Then WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO," Zuko yelled, and it startled baby Katara, causing her to fling her hand, which emitted a small fireball. Enik, shocked by Zuko's sudden yelling, actually jumped back.

"I am deeply sorry Master and Mistress Altina," he said, bowing his head, "I do not control the fate of children. Oh, and about my positive note: not only is the child very pretty, but other than that disorder, she is completely healthy, and will likely have a very high mental capacity. "Overpowered" benders, as we like to call them, generally are very smart thinkers. They are also very rare. I do believe this is only the 2nd case of one that I've ran into in my lifetime."

"I'm sorry," said Zuko, "I... I lost control."  
"I understand what it is like," said Enik, "in my travels, I met an amazingly beautiful young woman named Zuki Meisha. She was mentally challenged, and I found that it was very easy to confuse her, or to get her to do things. That poor woman would have been exploited to death if Cho Ling hadn't run into her. It's such a beautiful story.

Anyways, my point is; is that usually when people are challenged in one area, they make up for it in other areas. For example, everyone knows about the legendary Blind Bandit, am I correct? blind, obviously, but one of the greatest earthbenders to ever live, though I think young Zakura Ishiko might have been able to give her a run for the money."

Zakura was known also as an earthbender whose parents disapproved of her actions. At this point in time, she was too young to be recognized as the avatar, which is how she survived her parents, both of whom were and are Order Extremists.

"Other than that, Mistress Altina, "you should be able to leave here tomorrow. Farewell." And he left the room.

Katara and Zuko [and Sokka] were able to leave the next day, and upon their return, treated little Katara with care. Naturally, Sokka, who had never seen a baby before this close in his young age, wanted to hold her, and ironically, with her sporadic firebending bursts, baby Katara always seemed so calm in the little arms of her brother.

These two grew up happily, and life was good until Katara II [the young Katara] was about 4 years old. During this time, Zuko had been relatively effective for teaching the 4-year-old child how to control her energy. She would hurt herself often, but she was gaining some control over it.

"Her spirit wants her to continue," He said to his wife after a long training session with the now exhausted little girl, "but her body can't handle it. She literally has more chi energy than physical energy."

"That's why she has a good teacher like you," she smiled, kissing his lips, "she'll be able to keep it under control as long as she has you."

Unfortunately, Katara's statement was true. Shortly before Katara's 5th birthday, a raid from The Order left Zuko dead. Apparently Katara's reputation had spread into the wrong ears, and people figured that they could take the child and raise her to become a powerful warrior. Naturally, when Katara saw people after her, the first person she ran to was daddy.

"DADDY, DADDY," the little girl screamed, "there's mean people out there who want to take me away!"

They had let her run because they wanted to find her family, and sure enough, their plan succeeded.

"Don't you lay a finger on my little girl," said Zuko, ready to defend little Katara and his household. He was outnumbered, but a quick glance around told him that his friends and neighbors were coming to his aid.

"Take the kids and run," Zuko said to Katara, and she did, seeking shelter. Sokka was fast enough that he was able to keep up, and Katara was kicking and screaming in her arms.

"NO," she screamed, "I WANT DADDY TO COME WITH US! WHY ISN'T DADDY COMING; DADDY!!!"

It was the last time she ever saw her father. This tore her apart, and the little girl became wild and fierce. Additionally the stress from losing her husband was weighing down on Katara Sr.; luckily Sokka, who was maturing quickly, seemed to know how to handle her. He had had a close bond with their mother, being a waterbender, so it was almost like Katara was supposed to have a bond with her father for being a firebender, and while he was alive, she had had that bond. Now with it gone, she was lacking something in her life.

With bending power like the type she had, combined with the loss of the person she had loved the most, the mind of Katara Jr. was riddled with stress, anger, and sorrow. She grew into a strong, healthy, rather attractive young woman, but as her body matured, this only made Katara's emotions even less predictable and harder to control. Her mother, who even the now 16-year-old Sokka noticed this, was stressing to the point where she would die if she kept it up.

"Mom," he said, "please; you've got to stop stressing over Katara."

"I fail as a parent," she said, "I can no longer control her. She doesn't listen to anything I say."

"It takes a miracle for her to listen to what I say," Sokka reasoned, "and I usually have to get forceful with her physically. You're a good parent for not wanting to let loose on her for how she acts. I unfortunately lack that self-control."

"What do we do about her, son?" Katara asked, shaking her head, "I've tried everything. I can't take her anywhere, because she attacks people. She's just too powerful, and trying to contain her is like... ooh..."

"I understand, mom," Sokka replied, "What I think needs to happen: is that I need to move out with her. I seem to be the only one she'll ever listen to, and I don't want her stressing you out. I promise you that you will see her again; I promise."

It took a lot of convincing, but eventually Katara I realized that it was her only choice. The stress of her uncontrollable child was getting beyond her control, and the loss of her husband, though some years ago by now, was still on her mind.

Despite Katara Sr. being convinced that this was right, it took a little more than that [force, to be exact] to convince Katara Jr. of the situation. She was thrashing and screaming when her mother told her that they would be separated. However, in the 13 years that Sokka had dealt with Katara [Katara II was 13]; he had learned where her weak point was. He dove on top of her, seizing her by the scruff of her neck. For some reason, every time he did this, Katara would go completely limp. It only worked when Sokka did it, and it only worked when he grabbed it tightly and quickly.

"On your feet, Katara," he said, "we're going."

Katara didn't say anything, but like she usually did when she faced defeat, she was crying. Sokka closed his eyes as he led her away, knowing that they both were in for some rough times again, but he was happy knowing that their mother would not kill herself from the stress of Katara II's malicious attitude. Many times during their voyage to the Earth Kingdom, where they planned to live, Sokka had to grab Katara by the scruff of her neck, and this was the only reason she didn't attack anyone during the trip.

Eventually, they got settled into what was once Zuko's summer house. It was a decent place, and that was all they needed. Now, Sokka's goal for the next several years would be to try and tame his sister.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Katara literally went kicking and screaming the whole way there. Luckily, Zuko, their father, had been well-off, as the house was nice, had lots of open space, and was away from the general public. However, Katara's screams were loud and bloodcurdling. For a girl with a raspy voice like Katara generally naturally had, she could put out a very loud, high-pitched shriek that would hurt one's ears.

However, although this was Katara's weapon, Sokka had one that was even more effective, and was the anti-Katara. A few seconds after she started screaming, his hand clasped the scruff of Katara's neck. Immediately, she went limp. Katara did not slow her screaming and trashing down, she just ceased instantly. This was the only thing that enabled him to get her there without any further trouble.

Keeping a tight grip on the scruff of her neck, Sokka marched her all the way there. They both were used to walking long distances, so neither of them cared that it would take all day. They did stop a few times to eat and rest, and it seemed that during these times Katara found a new tactic. The first time they stopped, which was on a mountainside near some cliffs, she was harsh towards Sokka whenever she could be, and otherwise did not speak to him or act like she knew him. Sokka, being the 'voice of reason' that he so often was, tried to get her to listen to him; it was two immovable forces colliding.

Again though, Sokka knew his sister very well—much more than she knew her brother, let alone his tactics. He began running his fingers through her ratty, messy, curly dark brown hair. Once the "stun-trap" [Sokka grabbing the scruff of her neck] had been 'activated' and Katara was limp, this was the finishing blow.

"Alright," she said," not moving, and not showing any sign of emotion other than bitterness, "I'll listen to what you have to say."

"I just want to know why you're so upset," Sokka replied bluntly; one thing that whole family had been known for was their direct approach to things, and their blunt, straightforward way of speech.

"Because dad's gone," Katara replied, "and he was my last hope of ever gaining control of my power. Now I'm a lost cause. And then mom has to ruin my life even further by kicking me out. What's up with that? I'm thirteen years old? What does the woman expect?"

Sokka grabbed Katara by her shoulders. "Don't talk about mom that way," he said, "she's been trying everything to keep YOU under control. You don't listen to anyone. You've been actively trying to kill her for the past two years. Do you realize that, Katara? You listen here, and damn it, you listen well. You have been actively trying to kill YOUR OWN MOTHER for the past TWO years."

"Kill her," Katara scoffed, crossing her arms and turning away form Sokka's face, "that's a lie. My whole life is a lie. You know what, damn you, damn mom, and damn everyone else stupid enough to think I'm going to ever be able to live past my 16th birthday!"

She suddenly hand-planted and kicked Sokka in the face, and then took off running. Sokka, though a passive young man, was not about to take a beating from anyone, let alone his own younger sister. He took off after her, running top speed to keep up.

Katara was in very good shape, being a very swift runner and strong enough to oust many young men her age. This was because of the constant training she put herself through to keep herself in control of her power, and it was somewhat effective—or so she said, since she was still alive. Nonetheless, even she doubted that she would live past her 16th birthday. She continued running, Sokka slowly but surely catching up to her. He shot a jet of water in front of her that he swiftly froze, and she lost her footing, colliding painfully with the ground. Right as she meant to get up, Sokka dove through the air, caught her around the waist and landed on top of her scraping them both a few inches on the ground, leaving blood behind them.

However, just because Katara was down did not mean that she was out. She was going to keep fighting until Sokka subdued her. The two siblings were clawing and biting at each other, because they were locked in close combat, and neither one wanted to chance trying to put distance between them to use bending moves, and so this was the type of fighting that they had reduced to.

Eventually Sokka was able to get a firm grip on Katara, lift her up and then slam her back down. He let her go, letting her stagger to her feet and then launched his foot at her stomach, landing it in her gut. She spit up blood and was knocked backwards until she hit a rock wall of a cliff. She was not unconscious, but both of them were badly bruised.

Sokka looked almost like he had been mauled, while most of Katara's bruises were on the inside, and she had likely broken something.

"Damn it, Katara," said Sokka, half-guiding half dragging Katara towards the town, "I try to talk to you for one minute and you freak out and try to kill me. You've got some serious issues, girl. No sister of mine is going to kill anyone related to her; you got that?"

"Shut it," she replied, and attempted to bite Sokka's arm. Sokka's response was a smack to the side of her face.

"Katara," said Sokka, though they both had lost and were losing large amounts of blood, and were likely to fall unconscious at any time, "family—that's the one thing you said mattered to you."

"Daddy was the one thing that mattered to me," Katara replied, "mom is just a selfish witch who wants us out of the house."

Katara had had a bond with her father before his death. Conversely, Sokka had a bond with his mother that was the same as Katara's with her father. He was not going to put up with anyone, not even his own sister, talking bad about her.

Sokka just suddenly let loose, pummeling every inch of his sister that his fists and his fury could reach.

"Don't... ever... talk... about... my... mother... that... way!" he roared, hitting her during every pause, the final blow dislocating Katara's jaw. However, Katara was laughing.

"You lose," she smirked, and suddenly the two of them were blasted apart by Katara's bending energy, which had decided to let loose at that particular moment. They both were stopped by large rocks, and had both likely broken something by this point.

"Brilliant, Katara," said Sokka indignantly, "now we just get to lie here and die. Or I suppose you expect me to get up and drag us both back into town like I've done so many times. It's your call, sis. What now?"

Katara didn't say anything, but she did scream really loudly. Sokka chucked a rock at her to shut her up. It hit her arm, and she glared at him, launching a fireball in his direction. Sokka quickly blocked it with a water wall, and then just lay there a few yards from Katara, both of them lying in their own blood.

"Katara," he said, knowing that he would have to be the better sibling, and the example at that, "your mother loved you. Do you know why she had to send you away? It was my idea not hers."

"WHAT," Katara exclaimed, "This... you... me... mom... I..."

She let out another bloodcurdling scream.

"Your mother was dying," he said, pulling himself over towards him. It seemed that his legs were broken. "And it was because of YOU. She was stressing out, and stressing herself to death. Do you know why? Because she didn't want her daughter growing up to be a monster; keep this up, why don't you? I'll tell you what: let's go back, let her see that you've become even worse, and you can slowly watch her succumb to grief. How does that sound, Katara? How does that sound?"

Sokka was now sitting next to Katara, his mission completed. She was no longer yelling, not even at him.

"Look," said Katara bluntly, "I'm just mad, alright? I miss dad, I miss mom, I hate my bending abilities, and my life sucks right now."

Sokka looked around, "we kind of did get ourselves into a bind here."

"Obviously," said Katara, "but just... maybe..."

"Maybe what," Sokka asked,

"Maybe I need to be away from both of you. I... the more I think about it, the more I just think that I'm dangerous to everyone."

"Katara," said Sokka, "well... you kind of are. That's why I want you to be able to control it—control your powers; your emotions. If you do you could become the single most powerful person in the world."

"I don't want power," she said, "I want a normal life."

"I know you do," Sokka replied, "and I want to help you get as close as you can, and to do that, we just need to get you in control of that power of yours."

"I can't say that my emotions will be that easy to regulate," she warned, "and I'm not going to try an excuse myself. However, it's going to happen."

"Then I'll be ready for you when it comes," said Sokka, cracking his knuckles, "but first we need to figure out how we're going to get to a medical center. Look at this place. It looks like there was a battle here."

Sokka had a point. Blood was everywhere, and they both were sitting in large pools of their own blood and some of the other sibling's blood.

"I guess we'll have to think," said Katara bluntly, and Sokka nodded in agreement, but with both of them bleeding profusely, moving was not a wise idea. Besides, neither of them could walk either.

Their answer came several minutes later as a boy clad in Earth Kingdom attire appeared, gliding by, his bare feet on two different rocks. He was bending to move around. He passed by Sokka and Katara, and upon seeing them, he jumped off his rocks and looked at them. His skin and hair color were almost the same as those of Sokka and Katara, and he looked around 14. However, his eyes were green and he was obviously an earthbender, so they both knew that this was just a coincidence and not some "long-lost sibling".

"Need a hand," he asked; his voice was very deep. Sokka and Katara both nodded. His clothes were battered and bloody as well, so for all they knew he really could have been their sibling [but he wasn't].

"Hold on tight then," he said, and he lifted Sokka and Katara onto his shoulders. He was really strong, which might have been in part because he was an earthbender, but the fact that he was only about 14 made it more surprising that he was able to carry a 16-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl on his shoulders with little difficulty. He stamped the ground and began gliding across it again on his way to the next town. Upon reaching it, he left them at the nearest medical center with a bit of money, which he seemed to have an abundance of. He explained to the medical staff how he found the two siblings [though he didn't know they were siblings because of their different-colored clothing, which he assumed meant different nationalities] in a very blunt and straightforward manner, and then without another word to them, other than that he needed to be going, he sped off again, his bare feet still gliding on the earth via his bending.

By this time, Katara had gone unconscious, and Sokka was barely hanging onto consciousness. The establishment they had been dropped off in did not seem to be the fanciest one around, but the staff there was deadly efficient with doing what they needed to do when they needed to do it. Sokka, who observed this before going unconscious, figured that they sacrificed quality of the establishment itself for quality of staff performance. Either way, he was glad that they were alive.

The last thing he remembered before drifting off into sleep and/or unconsciousness was looking over at Katara, glad that she was alive, and determined that he was going to help her with her problems, both physical and emotional, and then finally take her back to see their mother again. It was his goal, and he was sticking to it.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sokka woke up feeling considerably better than he had been when he went unconscious. He found that his clothes had been washed and placed on the stand next to his bed [and was in his undergarments]. Glancing over at Katara, who was in the bed next to his, he saw that her situation was similar, though all he could see of her was her bushy, curly brown hair. He sighed.

"Damn it, Katara," he thought, "It's a really good thing that that boy passed by when he did, otherwise we'd both be dead."

"Oh," said a female voice that Sokka knew did not belong to his sister, "you're awake." It was a medic of course.

"Aye," said Sokka, massaging his head, "what happened?"

"Various things," the medic replied, "in essence you and your girlfriend there almost bled to death. You children need to be more careful with your relationships."

"Um," said Sokka, feeling slightly awkward, "she's not my girlfriend."

"I understand, honey," she said sweetly, now rubbing some type of ointment on Sokka's arm which stung rather badly,

"No, no," he said, "you don't. That's not my girlfriend over there. That's my sister."

"Ah," the woman replied, now moving to Sokka's other arm, in a different location where he had sustained yet another wound, "my sincerest apologies then for the mistake. May I ask what happened?"

"It's a complicated story," Sokka replied, "but I guess I should disclose it so that there is no confusion as to what happened."

Sokka proceeded to explain what had happened, and how much of the damage on both siblings was due much in part to Katara. He also explained the reasoning for why Katara was like that.

"She's really stressed," he remarked, "and for her to have that much power just waiting to consume her..."

"I understand, sweetie," the medic replied. There was another medic who was working on Katara, though she was still either asleep or unconscious, "don't worry; at the rate we're getting you two to recover at, you'll both be out of here in no time."

"Thank you," Sokka replied,

"No," the medic replied, "thank you. It is an honor to know that the most powerful bender in the world has come here."

"The what," Sokka exclaimed,  
"Katara Altina II is the talk of the region," the other medic replied, looking up, "that girl's power is the stuff of legend."

"Huh boy," Sokka muttered under her breath; poor Katara was never going to get time alone, if even the medical staff knew what she was famous for. He cursed under his breath.

"Now," said the first medic, getting Sokka's attention, "make sure you get some rest. That's the best that can be done for these wounds of yours at this point."

"Alright," Sokka replied, glancing over at his sister, "oh, and there's something important you should know about Katara: Every few hours or so, her body temperature will start to rise. When it does, get her outside, and get her outside FAST. That's the sign that her energy is building up, and she obviously doesn't use it indoors. However, if she's forced to hold it in for too long, the results can be devastating. I just thought that you should know that so she doesn't set this whole place on fire, you know?"

"We shall do our best," they replied, and that was what they did.

Ultimately, the rest of Sokka and Katara's time in the hospital was not too eventful. Katara would be periodically taken out to release her energy, and she was still bitter and hostile, not talking to anyone unless she absolutely had to. They were released about a week later because of the severity of their situation. Sokka had deducted that although it was not the highest-quality establishment that the staff was skilled at what they did and they sacrificed quality of the establishment for quality of the staff, which is why the two siblings were not in there for longer, like they normally would have been.

Upon their release, they went back to their father's old summer home. Neither one of them talked to each other. Sokka was willing, but Katara's mouth was sealed. She was still very angry and bitter about everything, but Sokka also knew she was depressed. Sokka, being the 'voice of reason' that he so often was, tried to get her to talk, but with no success. Every time he did, she would cross her arms and make sure her back was to him.

However, Sokka was just as stubborn as his sister, and so this did not faze him. Eventually, Katara cracked.

"Will you shut up and leave me alone," she snapped, "I can't even get a moment by myself from you either; sweet spirits..."

"Alright then," Sokka replied flatly, "I'll leave you here for a day and see how you turn out. I hope you don't burn the house down."

Katara said nothing. She crossed her arms and glared at Sokka with a piercing expression. Sokka said nothing and left the house. He knew that Katara needed him, and he wanted to prove it. He went into town and was gone a while.

Katara was fine alone for the first little while, but eventually her mind began wandering. To kill time, Katara got out some drawing supplies, which had been kept there when Katara was a little girl. Drawing was Katara's way of expressing herself, for because of her uncontrollable emotions, she was never sent to school, and therefore could not read or write like Sokka could. Katara's artistic skills were pretty decent, and she enjoyed it, so she continued to get better.

Generally, when Katara drew something, it was whatever she was thinking about at the time. She was pretty good too, and so her drawings were rather realistic, and she was constantly improving. This image though was an image of Sokka. He was just standing there, with his traditional expression—one that was trying to reason with Katara.

She paused, and looked at it for a long time.

Sokka came back several hours later and found Katara just like he predicted he would—she was crying; sobbing; her face buried in her arms as she sat at the table where she had been drawing earlier. Seconds later, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright," he asked her, and she didn't respond. The bushy mass of loose, impossibly curly dark brown hair moved slightly when Katara sniffled, but Sokka could not see her face. He sat down next to her, and gently lifted her face so that she was looking directly into his eyes. Katara at first shied away, but Sokka was persistent. Eventually, Katara got around to speaking.

"The only person I could ever look into the eyes of was daddy," she said, still sniffling; "and yet... you... you look just like him almost."

Sokka smiled. "That's what I'm here for," he said, "I'm never going to be able to be what dad was to you, but I'm here to try my best. He never told you this, but he told me something when I was a little boy. In fact, it was my 7th birthday, only a month or two before he disappeared."

"Son," said Zuko, taking Sokka and looking him straight in the eye, "I want to tell you something very important."

Sokka looked back into the eyes of Zuko, his father. He was always known as a mature boy, at least for his age.

"What is it, dad?" he asked curiously;

"There are mean people out there who want to take your sister," he said, "and as the head of this family, I'm going to be the one to protect her, you, and your mother. Depending on the scale of the attack, I might be killed. It depends on who will be there to help me, and some other things. The point though, Sokka, is that I might not be here to take care of Katara. If for some reason this is true, it's going to become your responsibility to care for her. She's dangerous; unstable; scared. She needs you, Sokka. You two have an amazing bond."

"I know," said Sokka, "but why do mean people want to take Katara?"

"Because of her power," Zuko replied, "people want her to fight in the war. She's already more powerful than some of their trainees."

"That's not right," said Sokka, "they can't do that. We're just kids."

"I know that, and they do too," said Zuko, "but that's the thing: they don't care. They see her as a tool—a weapon. They don't see her as a living person with thoughts and feelings of her own. To them, your sister is just a powerful fire-shooting machine."

"That's so wrong," said Sokka, "what kind of people are these freaks?"

"Corrupted, twisted villains," Zuko replied, "Son, it is crucial to everything this family holds dear that you do not let your sister fall into their hands should I disappear."

"I understand," Sokka replied, "I'm not going to let anyone touch Katara, ever. They can't do that to her. She's already got it bad enough as it is; poor Katara."

Zuko put his arms around the boy, for Sokka's eyes were watering in sympathy for poor Katara, who would likely be hunted her whole life unless the war ended between then and now.

"He..." Katara sniffed, "daddy told you to do this?"

"Aye," Sokka replied, "because he loved you. I love you too, Katara. I don't want you falling into the hands of The Order any more than dad did. I love you, Katara. Come here."

He put her arms around her and she did the same, breaking down."

"I'm sorry," she said, crying again, "it's just... it's..."

"Let it out, Katara," said Sokka, gently stroking her hair, "let it all out."

"I MISS HIM!!!" Katara yelled, still sobbing strongly,

"I know," Sokka replied, "I do too. And I know he's watching you right now—he's going to be proud of his daughter, right, Katara?"

Katara sniffled again, slowing down significantly.

"Aye," she replied firmly, "aye, he will."

"Exactly," said Sokka, smiling, still stroking her hair, "because I'm going to be here to help you get control of that power of yours, Katara."

"Thanks," Katara replied, "it's just... I feel like I can't even control my own emotions. I'm scared, Sokka. What's going to happen to me?"

"You're busy focusing your control on more important things, Katara," Sokka replied, "you're not going to die from uncontrollable emotions. Unfortunately, in your case, you might from uncontrollable power. That's why your mind wants you to focus on your power for now. Your body and spirit have a will to live, Katara. Perhaps there is something out there that neither of us knows about."

"Like what?" Katara asked, still looking slightly worried;

"Well," said Sokka, "possibilities are endless. There was no funeral when dad died. In fact, they don't know if he's even dead. All we know was there was a little blood, and his body was never found. For all we know, he could be alive somewhere."

Katara's eyes widened.

"Daddy's alive," she exclaimed,

"Maybe," Sokka replied, "I personally think he's passed away. However, I've been known to be wrong before. Don't lose hope, Katara. Regardless of what happens, you'll never be alone."

Katara smiled, and stood up.

"I need to go release some energy," she said bluntly, though she looked slightly happier;

"Alright," Sokka replied, "do you want me to go with you?"

"I'd rather be alone," Katara replied, "I mean; you know how bad I am at trying to control myself. I don't want you seeing me hurt myself the way I do. It's not a pretty site."

Sokka stopped, looking slightly puzzled.

"Katara," she exclaimed, "What are you talking about?"

Katara looked down at the ground shyly.

"Katara," said Sokka, pressuring her into telling

"It's just..." Katara stammered; "maybe you should see for yourself."

Katara removed her shirt. Her midriff, back, and shoulders were just as scarred as the rest of her body.

"I..." she stuttered, "I'm like this almost all over. Pretty much the only place I'm not is my hands and forearms, and that's 'coz I never take these off anymore."

Katara was referring to her arm braces when she said this, which covered her forearms and hands, only revealing her fingertips. She kept her pants and boots on as well, for removing her shirt had proved enough of her point. [And she wasn't topless]

"Katara," Sokka exclaimed, "this is terrible."

"I know it is," Katara replied, "it's just something I need to work on, alright? Can you help me with it, please?"

"I would be more than happy to," he said, hugging Katara the way she was, "I'm your brother. I love you."

Katara simply closed her eyes. This was all Sokka needed right now.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"So what do I do about all of these scars?" Katara asked, still not putting her shirt back on, "what do I do to prevent myself from creating more? I don't want to mutilate myself."

"Sit down," Sokka replied, glad that Katara was not freaking out. However, he knew that this was just one of her phases and that she would eventually freak out. Emotional swings like that did not die that easily, and Sokka knew it.

"Shall I put my shirt back on?" Katara asked, sitting down beside the bed;

"No," Sokka replied, "not yet at least."

"What about the rest of my things?" Katara asked, swinging her legs and feet, which were still clad in her pants and boots,

"Not important right now," Sokka replied, getting behind Katara and bringing water onto his hands. "Just sit down and relax."

Katara soon felt a relaxing, cool feeling on her shoulders, where Sokka was massaging them with a light layer of water on his hands as well. It felt incredibly good to Katara, and it definitely helped loosen up her tense muscles. She let out a huge, long, content sigh.

"Just relax," he said, "I can't get your whole body right now, but I at least think your shoulders should be relaxed, especially with how much you use those arms of yours."

Sokka's hands also ran up and down Katara's back [and Katara noticed that part of the massage feeling on her back was dulled by her top, but she didn't want that off at this point, so said nothing], and on her arms to her elbows where the braces on her arms began. Katara let out long, comfortable sighs as he did this, and Sokka actually spent a lot of time massaging her back, arms and shoulders.

"Stand up," he said once he finished, and Katara did so. Sokka turned her around so that she was looking back at him. He looked at her face a while, while she looked down shyly.

"You know," he said, "if you were more sociable, I'm pretty sure you would get friends that liked you—maybe even some that said you were cute. Imagine if some of them heard your giggle."

Sokka stepped forward and gently pushed Katara backwards onto the bed, and he jumped on top of her.

"What are you doing?" she exclaimed, "let me get my shirt back on at least or something..."

"You're not going to need it," Sokka replied, grinning, "Besides, I'm your brother. What do you think I'm going to do to you?"

Katara looked back up at him, shrugging. Sokka though, was looking at Katara's belly, watching it move with her breathing. Suddenly though, Sokka disrupted it as he began to tickle her, mostly around her belly button. This was one of Katara's most ticklish points, and so she began giggling and laughing very hard, thrashing and kicking in an attempt to get her self unpinned from underneath Sokka, who was relentlessly tickling her with no consideration of stopping based on his expression. Although her belly button was the most sensitive spot, Katara's whole belly was actually very ticklish as well. All in all, Katara was just a very ticklish young woman, and Sokka took advantage of it a lot, much like their father used to, and Katara loved it.

It was several minutes before he stopped, and it was only because he was going so hard that Katara had begun to turn purple.

"Wow," Katara remarked, "I thought I was going to suffocate,"

"I'd never let that happen," Sokka replied, still looking down at his sister, who was actually smiling, "I love you, Katara. I want to make you happy. I'm going to remember that removing your shirt and tickling your belly seems to be one of your favorite pastimes."

"What," Katara exclaimed, her eyes widening and her mouth growing into more of a skeptical laugh.

"You heard me, Katara," Sokka replied, grinning, "you can pretty much consider yourself staying here for the night, because you're not going anywhere for a while."

Sokka kept his word, and continued tickling Katara, enjoying himself as she let out what had to have been a long time's worth of suppressed giggles. Katara had a very cute laugh, and it alone seemed to make the place more cheerful.

Katara was breathing heavily at this point.

"Are you going to let me get my shirt back on yet?" She asked; though she still had the giggles slightly.

"Not with a giggle like that," Sokka laughed, "Katara, you've got a really cute laugh. You should use it more often."

"What do you mean?" Katara asked, not quite understanding what Sokka had been implying;

"I mean," Sokka replied, "That you need to laugh more. Underneath that uncontrollable mass of chi energy and emotion, I see a happy girl who s generally pleasant to be around."

"Really now," Katara giggled, "perhaps if you want to hold me down like that you need to better watch your position."

She flipped Sokka over, and the two of them suddenly were locked in a wrestling match. They fell off the bed, Sokka landing on top of Katara, but this did not stop them. The final result was Sokka "cheating" and pinning Katara by her wrists and ankles using ice. Katara was immobilized, and was spread out, leaving her belly open and exposed, or rather, "at Sokka's mercy".

"What do you want from me," she said, the smile still on her face,

"I want you to be happy," He replied, "I want you to laugh until it hurts. You were truly designed to be a happy person, Katara. You've just had several hardships in your life. Just stay as strong as you have been though, and I guarantee that the happy girl inside of you will eventually dominate your mind."

"I love you, Sokka," she said, still smiling,

"I love you too, Katara" He replied, "but that does not mean that I'm letting you off this easily, you know?"

"Damn it," Katara muttered, chuckling, and then she suddenly burst out laughing hard as Sokka began blowing raspberries into her stomach. Katara's laughs and giggles were loud and altogether a pleasant noise. Sokka loved them, but even more loved the smile on his sister's face.

To Sokka's surprise, he was true to his word yet again. It was nightfall before these two had stopped "playing", and for some reason, Katara still ad not gotten her shirt back. However, there was another thought on her mind at the moment.

"I need to go release some energy," she warned, "I probably should have done so a lot sooner than I did."

"You want me to come with you," Sokka asked her,

"Aye," Katara replied, "I think I'm in a good enough moods at the moment."

"I'm glad," Sokka replied, "because you really, really need to laugh more. It's a beautiful sound."

Katara smiled. "I'll try," she said, "but you know my emotional swings... I... I just can't control myself at all. My body pretty much does what it wants to, regardless of what my mind says."

"You're a strong-willed girl, Katara," Sokka replied, as Katara put her shirt back on and the two of them went outside; "you've grown up having to deal with things that no teenage girl should have to deal with. You've had to deal with things that no one should have to deal with. Besides, you're still so young. But you should let your energy out soon. I mean, you're red; really red."

He put his hand on Katara's elbow, which, when Katara was fully dressed was the only thing besides her head and her fingertips that was revealed. Katara was hot, insomuch that her body was turning red.

"Let it out, Katara," he continued, standing back and watching Katara's display. She was absurdly powerful, and it hurt Sokka to see how powerful she was and to have to watch the attempts of a 13-year-old girl to try and contain all of it.

Nonetheless, Sokka was proud of Katara's stout spirit. Every time she was blasted off of her feet, she simply got back up and continued her release of energy. She continued this until she was literally too exhausted to move. She laid there on her back, breathing heavily, her face red from exhaustion.

"You done now?" he asked her, reaching out his hand,"

"No," she replied, "no, I need to keep going."

"No you don't, Katara," Sokka replied, "you need rest. Your spirit is demanding too much from your body. They cannot cope unless you find a way to let them compromise."

"Don't tell me what to do with myself," Katara snapped; the stress from her spirit demanding more than her body could give was now tampering with her already dangerous emotions.

"Look," said Sokka, "I'm not trying to control you, Katara. I'm trying to help you—because I care."

"I'll decide what I do and don't do," Katara replied, and she pulled herself up, staggering to her feet. Sokka could tell that she was exhausted, but she did not want to stop. It was as if her power was some sort of dominating force that could manipulate her mind.

It was after she started hurting herself to a large extent that Sokka intervened and forced her to stop by freezing her hands and feet.

"Let me go," Katara yelled, thrashing violently, trying to escape, "get me out of here! Stop this! Leave me alone!"

"Alright;" Sokka replied bluntly, and crossed his arms, watching as Katara thrashed violently to try and get out of her ice traps. However, it was all in vain, as she could not, and was seriously about to faint from fatigue.

Katara woke up the next morning not remembering what had happened last night. The last thing she recalled was thrashing violently to escape a trap that Sokka had put her in, and then she had blacked out. She was laying face-down, and was in her undergarments, though had the braces on her arms still on. She felt relaxing feelings in her muscles, as there was someone over her, loosening them up and helping her relax.

Of course, it was Sokka, and he was not aware that Katara was awake. The massage though, sort of put Katara back into a half-asleep state, and so she did not move, and made no indication that she was awake.

"At least she laughed yesterday," Sokka thought to him self, "that means that even though we've only been out here a few days that I know what I'm working with. She's clearly stressed, and her power governing her body is not going to make this any easier."

He continued kneading Katara's muscles all throughout her body [though he avoided anything that was covered] and also continued thinking about Katara.

"Poor Katara," he thought again, "she should not have had to deal with what she has to. She is supposed to be a happy girl. That laugh last night was so beautiful. She's got a sweet giggle. I bet if she socialized more, she would definitely find herself a guy easily. I know that I like that sort of attitude in a girl."

He decided to speak up, as he assumed Katara had woken up from her initial stirring.

"You know, Katara," he said, "You really are a brilliant girl. Just stop and think about that for a moment."

Katara, who was awake, just sniffled. Her usual emotion cycle was that her happiness eventually faded, and this fading turned to neutrality, which turned then to anger, and then to sadness and sorrow, and then it neutralized and started the process over again. She actually did listen to Sokka's words and thought about her own life. She dug really deep into her soul, and underneath the monsters that had formed around it, was the soul of a kind, high-spirited, and generally pleasant young woman to be around.

"You're a really nice girl," he told her, "you just have issues with certain things beyond your control. That's why I want to help you so badly, Katara. I know what you are really like, and know what you can become. I want you to trust me. I will always be here for you."

Katara sniffled again, and Sokka kept massaging her, loosening up her tightened joints. She enjoyed this 'treatment' a lot.

He rolled her over and let her sit up.

"I love you, Katara," he said, and then he embraced her, and slowly, and starting to sob a little, she embraced him back. She knew that he was right, but she was not sure that she could control her emotions. Luckily, Sokka was patient and willing to put up with her, and so that was what he did, never faltering.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sokka did his best to help Katara the way their father had planned to, doing his best to try and teach Katara control, but he himself was a chi-dominant waterbender, and so there were rare times when he would have random outbursts of energy as well. They were much less frequent than Katara's, and not as powerful [again, not because Sokka was weak, but because Katara was strong—much too strong for her own good].

This only became a problem when it coincided with him being in the vicinity of Katara at the time, and with Katara being in a very bad mood. They had been away for a few months, and Katara was getting better at controlling her emotions, but, like any teenaged girl, she had the occasional mood swings. She had them more often than the average person because of the stress from being torn from her family and because of her bending energy, which was so vast that her young body could not control it all.

Sokka's 'chi-attack' [which is what the random bursts of energy that chi-dominant benders released were called] had been especially powerful this time, and he had just happened to turn to face Katara to tell her about something when it came. He had not gained enough control to tell when his chi-attacks would come, but he knew it would come with age.

He was knocked backwards into a sitting position, and Katara was hit with the blast of his attack, sending her literally flipping head over heels backwards until she slammed into a tree. Thankfully they had been outside during the incident.

Katara had gotten the wind knocked out of her, and she looked dazed, confused and upset.

"What did you do that for," she snapped, staggering to her feet. Her arms flared up, flames surrounding them from where her gloves started to the ends of her fists. Sokka knew that this meant trouble, for Katara only flared up her arms when she planned on participating in combat or some sort. Moreover, she was angry, and an angry Katara was a dangerous opponent.

"It was a chi-attack, Katara," Sokka replied, "I had no control over it."

"Aim the other way maybe," Katara retorted, starting to take steps towards him.

"Don't you even think about attacking me back," Sokka remarked, "it was an accident. You should know all about unexpected chi-attacks, Katara"

However, in the 13 years Katara had been alive, something had poisoned her mind insomuch that when she had made up her mind to attack someone, she went through with it regardless of what happened. Sokka was no exception, and had it not been for Sokka's quick reflexes in bringing up a huge, thick wall of ice and water, he would have been charred to a crisp by a high-energy fire blast from his sister.

It took a lot of physical energy out of her, and so she was staggering to stay on her feet.

"You need to calm down, Katara," Sokka remarked, "you're going to hurt yourself if you try things like that."

"What choice does, it give me," Katara snapped, breathing heavily; "no matter what I try, it is all futile. I'm going to die. I need to be alone for a while. Don't you try to follow me—I'm not in the mood to listen to your so-called "voice of reason". Just leave me alone."

Sokka had half a mind to follow her, and soon enough, he regretted letting her go, for she had various things on her mind.

Katara wandered into the town that was only a little ways away from the rural area where they were living. Few people paid any attention to her, other than a few people who turned to see her because of her red clothes. Travelers were not uncommon, but in the earth kingdom, the green clothing they wore was by far the most common [and the same applied for any nation].

Katara wandered through the town aimlessly, not knowing where she was going. She just wanted to be alone. However, one untimely chi-attack was eventually going to lead to a chain of events that would give the young girl a tour of the world and teach her a thing or two about serious self-reliance.

Katara wandered into an alleyway, where she noticed several posters on one of the walls. Apparently they were wanted posters, and, although Katara was unaware of it, these were wanted posters FOR criminals—in other words, the people shown on the posters were wanted BY criminals for one reason or another.

Katara noticed an image of herself on this wall as well. She took it down to look at it. It was decently accurate, but there was no denying it was her. Katara looked at the strange markings at the top of the page and underneath her image. What did they mean?

Katara, unlike Sokka, never received a formal education of any type because of her physical and emotional instability. As a result, Katara could not read or write at all. This may have been another reason why she drew things on her spare time; she expressed through images what she could not express in writing. Deciding to swallow a little of her pride, she pocketed the poster and decided to head back home. She wanted at least to get on Sokka's good side long enough to get him to read what it said about her. She didn't know it was a wanted poster either, because she could not read the word "wanted" either.

She arrived back home, feeling slightly tired as she usually did. Katara Altina II was almost always tired, because even when she wasn't active, her bending energy took a lot out of her. She apologized to Sokka, and her apology actually turned out to be sincere. She was just having one of her mood swings, and a few hours alone in town had helped her calm down. Katara enjoyed being alone.

"What is that," Sokka exclaimed, when she took out the poster to ask him about it. Naturally, Katara, not knowing herself, shrugged. Sokka took it and scanned it. His eyes widened as he finished. This confused Katara.

"What's wrong," she asked, curiously, raising an eyebrow;

"Remember those people that wanted to take you away when you were a little girl?" Sokka asked, "Remember the people that dad fought?"

"Aye," Katara replied, sounding a little more worried, "why?"

"This is a wanted poster," Sokka replied, "I don't think it's a legal one, but it's here nonetheless. There are more people looking for you here."

"What does it say," Katara asked curiously,

"Well," Sokka replied, "it says "Wanted for the war—Katara Altina II; just look for a girl who can blow things up on accident." And Katara, there is a huge bounty on your head. Apparently they think you're valuable—very valuable."

"Who thinks I'm valuable?" Katara asked, glancing around as if there were people outside their windows listening in on them that she could not see; "what do they want with me?"

"It is most likely The Order of the Avatar Slayer," Sokka replied, sounding agitated as well; not at Katara, but at the idea that this organization wanted to exploit a 13-year-old girl for a war; "they want to use you as a weapon. Your power is great enough that you could literally take a side in this war, Katara, and have an actual impact single-handedly. That is so wrong though; you're way too young."

"I know," Katara replied, "I don't want any part of this war. I just want it over. I want to be able to live normally."

"But they're looking for you, Katara," Sokka replied, "I don't know what else we can do. We can't go back to where mom is because we don't want them taking her like they did with dad. The fact that you're a firebender and she's a waterbender helps though. It makes the two of you seem like you might not be related."

"Sokka," Katara remarked, "I was told I look just like mom. That isn't going to cut it, even if we DID claim not to be related."

"No one thought I was related to dad until I told them what my name was," Sokka replied, "but that's not the point though, Katara. The point is; is that our list of places to go is narrowing. It's not safe to stay here."

"I'm not safe anywhere," Katara remarked truthfully; "not even from myself. If I went back to see mom again, not only would I put her in danger because of her being my mother, but also because I'm not ready. I've grown up a bit since we left her, Sokka. I know myself a little better than I used to."

"The hardest person to ever know is your self," Sokka replied, "but regardless, you have a point. Katara, you are the one that is in danger, not me. I will leave the decision of what to do up to you."

Katara shrugged. "Why should I run?" she remarked, "They'll just chase me down there too. I've evaded their grasp for 13 years. Perhaps it would just be best to just let fate play its course."

Sokka paused. His sister might not have had very much academic talent, but she was smart; Katara had a lot of common sense, and she had rather cunning logic as well, especially for her age.

"Are you sure?" Sokka asked, "I mean; I don't want you to die. Mom doesn't want you to die either."

"Aye," Katara replied, "besides, if anything, they would kill you and mom. If they want me as a weapon, then I am in no danger of death by them. Torture, perhaps, or being forced to watch the two of you die, but no, I am not going to die by their hands as long as they want me. Doesn't that make sense?"

Sokka was speechless, for Katara's remark really did make a lot of sense. He WAS in danger after all.

"Aye," he replied a few seconds later, "so are you proposing we split up?"

"No," Katara replied, but this reply was shakier, "no, I... I don't think I'm ready to be completely by myself. I need someone to hold on to. With dad most likely dead and mom in danger, you're the only other person I have, Sokka. I need you."

"Then we are not splitting up," Sokka replied, "Just make sure you don't storm off in anger again. Just try to find another way to calm down. We can't be separated, otherwise that will make us more vulnerable."

"I..." Katara stammered nervously, knowing her emotions were not the most predictable things in the world, "I'll try my best, alright?"

"That's all I can ask for," Sokka said, smiling. He embraced Katara and she returned it. She seemed scared, and Sokka did as well. Nevertheless, the two siblings continued in their efforts to get along, and they were much more cautious, which only added to Katara's sense of paranoia.

However, just as would be expected, Katara's emotions were not able to just magically become normal, and there again rose a time where her mood swings left her furious at Sokka, and she stormed off, despite his pleas for her to stay.

"Spirits above," he muttered, almost like a prayer of some sort, "keep her safe; don't let The Order get her."

Whatever forces there were behind fate and time, they worked in a strange manner that seemed to be a double-edged sword. The Order did not capture Katara, but unfortunately, someone else did.

Katara was in town, luckily in a less crowded area, when her chi energy attacked again, sending a huge burst of fire upward and knocking Katara painfully backwards, slamming her against a wall, which was what, stopped her knock-back. It was here that a mysterious woman appeared out of the shadows. This woman, nicknamed Lucy, was a bounty hunter, and she had found her target.

"Who are you," Katara asked weakly, her vision sort of blurry from the racking pain in her head;

"My name is Azula Caroso," the woman replied, "but you can call me Lucy. I am here to claim you as my prize."

As she said this, she began hoisting up Katara, who was too weak to fight back, the fireball being one of very high energy.

"Let me go," Katara snapped, and she vainly struggled to get free; "why are you doing this to me?"

"I am a hunter," Azula replied, "a hunter needs prey. And today—you're It." with that, she put her hands around Katara's neck in a certain form that made her go unconscious. From there, Lucy, still carrying Katara, disappeared back into the shadows.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Katara woke up, and knew at once that this was not where she went unconscious. She was lying on a bed of some sort, but the room she was in was rocking slightly. She got up and looked around, and after a little bit of looking around, she found that she was on a ship. She was annoyed at being taken against her will, and wanted to find the woman who had done this to her. She left the room and went up to the main deck. At once, Katara knew that these were pirates, judging from their appearances and the amount of loot they seemed to have. Wherever they were, they were not in the Earth Kingdom—or any nation for that matter. They were out on the seas.

It did not take long for Katara to scour the ship in search of Lucy. She had gone straight to the captain's quarters and was banging on the door until she heard a voice behind her.

"Ah," said the voice; it was female, and Katara turned around, slightly startled. In front of her was a woman that was most likely the captain of the ship, judging from her apparel. Ironically, other than Lucy and the captain, there were very few other women on board.

"May I help you with something?" she asked; it was not a rude voice, but rather, straightforward, as if she was not going to take a lie.

"Aye," Katara replied, plucking up courage again, "where, is the woman named Azula Caroso?"

"Lucy," the woman remarked, "ah, she must have been the one who brought you here, she's—"

But Katara cut her off.

"Damn right she was the one who brought me here," Katara snapped, "and that's why I want to find her. I need a word with her."

"There's no need to get snappy, kid," the woman replied, "you sound like that old earthbending legend from a thousand some-odd years ago—Toph was her name. I like your style though."

"Shut up and tell me where Lucy is," Katara snapped,

"I was going to," the captain replied, "but you cut me off. She is right over there. And you may call me Tenoko; Captain Dragmire, or whatever floats your boat. I honestly don't care enough. Respect is only demanded by those who are insecure enough to think they need it. I'm no more special than you are, Toph."

"My name's Katara," Katara growled.

"And everyone's got a nickname on The Blazing Phoenix," Tenoko chuckled, "this isn't Gaoling, kid. We have no rules."

"Gaoling," Katara asked, not knowing that that had been the name of the city where she and Sokka had lived;

"Aye, Gaoling," Tenoko replied, "we were there selling off goods, and a few bounty hunters of mine decided to get a few of our enemies. We were moderately successful too."

"WHAT," Katara yelled, "why am I your enemy? I don't even know who the hell you creeps are!"

"You were a special case," Tenoko replied, "Lucy captured you for her own reasons. She works for the highest bidder."

"So I'm your... your prisoner," Katara exclaimed, angry, upset, and very, very frustrated; "get me out of here. I want to go home!"

"We're only half a mile from the shore," Azula remarked, appearing out of nowhere behind Katara, "you, can swim back if you want. Just be sure to watch out for any of the things that dwell in the shallower seas."

Azula was being completely truthful. Unlike her name would indicate; she was actually almost nothing like Azula of old. Azula Caroso was a simple woman who did as she pleased and generally worked for the highest bidder. Katara, however, looked more upset.

"I can't swim," she replied, "what do you want with me?"

That is our business," Tenoko replied;

"You know that with me being with you all that people are going to come after you, right?" Katara asked,

"Aye," Tenoko replied, "and that's one of the reasons we're not letting you go. The more people that come after us, the more people we're going to fight to the death. The more people we defeat, the more dangerous we will become. Besides, if it helps cause a little chaos in Xin Shing's world of Order, then I'm all for it."

"I'm only 13!" Katara pleaded, "Why can't people just leave me alone?"

"Because the world is not simple like that, Katara Altina II," Azula replied, "we live in a terrible world right now. Believe me, the stories I could tell about the prejudice I got."

"Aye," Katara remarked sarcastically, "I bet you have too much power to control as well. That sounds incredibly likely."

"how much power do you have exactly," Tenoko asked curiously, "surely people could not have been telling the truth about that much energy contained in a girl your size and age."

Katara laughed, though it was an angry laugh.

"You need to get out more then," Katara retorted, "for the things they say about my power are true. Believe me, it's not something you want. Power is entirely overrated."

"So this is the girl with the power," one of the other crew members, this one a man, asked;

"Aye," Azula replied, "and she's about to prove it to us; I think we've been underestimating her."

Katara thrashed backwards at Azula, thinking that she was being sarcastic. However, another element about Azula's simplicity was that she generally told things the way she saw them. However, when Katara attacked, she was easily outmaneuvered by Azula, who was around 25 years old, and so all in all, the teenage girl was no match for the grown woman.

Right as Katara made to strike, Azula grabbed her arm, twisted it backwards and flipped Katara over, slamming her onto her back. Thinking this would teach her not to strike randomly, she let go. This was her mistake, as, though on the ground, Katara flipped onto her hand [Azula's maneuver had not hurt damaged her arm] and kicked out a blast of fire towards Azula. Azula was able to barely avoid it, but it nearly singed her bare feet.

"Girl," Azula snapped, darting over and grabbing Katara by her throat, lifting her into the air, "you really need to stop trying to hurt me. You're not going to win unless you get more control over your body, spirit, and emotions. I will not hurt you unless you try my patience first. Believe me, I am not a woman that you want to see angry."

She dropped Katara, who clutched her neck. Tears began running down her face, as she was now very upset, angry, and was feeling forlorn. She stood up and, mainly just to vent, blasted enormous fireballs out across the ocean just to relieve her self of some extra energy.

This actually was an eye-opener for Azula, Tenoko, and the rest of the crew, all of whom watched in awe.

Katara's power was truly awe-inspiring though. Some of her larger fireballs were nearly as big as the ship itself. The smallest ones were still about as big around as a grown man. Katara continued relentlessly, though by this time, both Azula, Tenoko, and some of the crew members could tell that she was hurting herself. She was yelling, but with the sounds of the huge fireballs, they could not tell what it was that she was saying, if anything.

"She wasn't lying," Azula exclaimed, "that girl is going to kill herself at the rate she's going—that poor thing."

"It makes sense as to why she's upset," one of the men remarked, "look at her. That looks like it hurts—she's screaming."

Katara finished with one huge blast that could have engulfed the ship itself if she had been aiming at it. This was powerful enough that it knocked her off her feet, sending her spiraling backwards, where she landed on her face.

"Treat her carefully," Tenoko declared, "I don't want her to hurt herself. There is more to this kid than meets the eye.

Tenoko Dragmire was not a cruel person, despite being a pirate. Her history was long and complicated too, as the 41 years of her life were not the happiest ones either. Azula, at 25, was not much different. Most of Tenoko's crew had similar tales, and so Katara fit right in.

Tenoko stooped down and noticed that Katara was crying. If Sokka had been there, he could have told them that that was an indicator that Katara had declared herself defeated.

"Look, Toph," said Azula, using the nickname that Tenoko had given them, "I was wrong in doing what I did, perhaps. Right now though, that is not our concern. Our concern is to make sure you don't get yourself killed."

"Then take me back," Katara said through her tears, "taking me away from my home kills what little will to live that I have left."

"And why is that," Tenoko asked calmly, "why have you lost the will to live? Tell me everything."

"Hell no," Katara replied, "I don't need to bring up my darkest memories to some worthless pirates. What are you going to do; torture me; kill me? My life is torture, and death would be a privilege. It's an eye for an eye, Captain Dragmire. Learn that."

"Very well," Tenoko replied calmly, "if I must bring up why MY life was miserable for you to explain why yours is, then I shall—though listen closely, as I will not repeat it under any other circumstances. You though—you loom troubled; very troubled. I want to help you, and so telling this story would be worth it I assume. Though if you don't cooperate, I'm pretty sure our crew could make good use of you as a handy weapon in this war."

She had only said that last part to motivate Katara to "play by the rules", but that just upset her more than before.

"Don't remind me," she said, standing up, "I'll be right back. I'm going to go kill myself now to end this stupidity. I'm 13! I'm still just a kid. Leave me alone... I don't care about your stupid war."

Tenoko stopped her by gently putting one of her braced hands on Katara's shoulder. The braces Tenoko wore on her hands and forearms were just like Katara's, only blue.

"I didn't care about it either," Tenoko replied, "until my husband and children were killed because of it—twice; twice, Katara. I lost my lover and my babies twice. I've since figured that if I married a 3rd time that I'd have babies again, only to lose them and my husband as well. I'm not keen on reliving that again, Katara. I lost my family just like many other people in the war—however, I didn't lose my parents like most people did—I lost my children and my husband—my little babies."

She paused, and closed her eyes, as fine streams of tears came out the corners of them. She embraced Katara.

"No parent should have to bury their child," she said, "ever. No 21-year-old woman should have to look upon the lifeless bodies of her husband and two baby children—twice."

Tenoko had actually not even seen the bodies of her 2nd set of twins, but she had not seen them in nearly 12 years, and so they were assumed dead, since at the young age when they disappeared, they could have never taken care of themselves.

"The war ripped my family apart too," Katara replied, sniffling, for Tenoko's story had touched her—family was always a big thing in young Katara's life.

"It took my daddy from me. It ripped me from my mom, and now you all have to come and rip me away from my brother—my last hope and desire to stay alive. Why did you have to do this to me? Now I've got no one. I'll say it nice and honest right now—I don't care about anyone except for my parents and my brother."

"Apologies, Toph," said Azula, "perhaps I should start over as well. My name is Azula Caroso."

"My name is Katara," Katara replied bluntly, "Katara Altina II."

"'Tenoko Dragmire here," Tenoko added, "and what is mine on this ship is yours. Welcome to the Blazing Phoenix. I recommend you take a rest and then I can tell you how things work around here."

Katara consented, because especially after the emotional outbursts, added with the spiritual chi outbursts, Katara was exhausted. She found her room and plopped down on the bed fully dressed, and was asleep within minutes.

She was able to relate with Tenoko a little bit, and thoughts of her, and Azula Caroso remained in her mind. Maybe they weren't so bad after all.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The next few months were spent at sea for Katara. They landed a few times, but as they were going to different parts of the world that Katara was not familiar with, she did not stray far from the pirates, as they were careful to protect her. She became well-acquainted with them, and befriended most of them. Those she hadn't befriended were not her enemies; just ones that she did not know too well.

Katara had some disapproval for Azula, whose tasks when they landed sometimes had her doing things that supported the war. Katara was always careful to stay out of this whole war mess, as she hated it all. It had ultimately been the war that had destroyed her family the way it did, and so Katara had a deep grudge against it.

Katara's 14th birthday (according to her [correct] calculations) though, was spent at the Western Air Temple. The previous months of traveling had taken them the long way around the Earth Kingdom, hitting ports on its east coast, and making a couple of stops in Eastern Air Nomad lands, including the Eastern Air Temple. They traveled all the way around the enormous Earth Kingdom continent hitting various places including the Northern Water Tribe, the Northern Air Temple, and there was an extended "raid" of some sort that involved Ba Sing Se.

Ultimately, by the age of 14, the only lands Katara hadn't been into yet were the Southern Air Temple and the Fire Nation, though, knowing this band of pirates, who claimed to travel the world, she knew it would be only a matter of time before she saw those places.

The stay at the Western Air Temple was a long one, which Katara found strange, as her stays at the Eastern and Northern Air Temples had both been very short. The Air Nomads had stayed out of the war, and, living the humble lifestyles that they did, stealing things from them was not very profitable, and apparently, Tenoko, Azula, and the others had some sort of ethics, namely, not to steal form pacifists.

"So what are we doing here," Katara asked curiously after their first day there. This was the evening before her birthday. By this time, she had calmed down a bit, though was still prone to her freaky mood swings.

"Well," said Azula in response, Captain Dragmire said she wanted to do something special for you tomorrow."

"What," Katara exclaimed, "what's so special about tomorrow?"

"Your birthday of course," Azula replied, "granted, it's not going to be some lavish festival or anything, but—"

"How did you all learn my birthday?" Katara snapped,

"whoa now," said Azula, holding out her arms as if she was going to push Katara back should she try to strike, "calm down, kid. We know because everyone knows. Why do you think the world is after you? Everyone knows who you are, and a lot about you."

Katara grumbled.

"Nothing is sacred anymore," she sighed.

"People don't care about whom other people really are," Azula replied, reaching into her bag, "all they care about is if someone is there and if they can be used for their own gain—I'm not exempt."

"You're not overpowered though," Katara exclaimed, "are you?"

"No," Azula replied, "but people thought that they would be able to use me to rid the world of you."

Katara gasped, and stepped back, looking hurt, angry, and insulted.

"WHAT," she barked, "you were going to do WHAT with me?"

"Nothing," Azula replied, "though I was offered a shot at killing you, and the bounty could have taken me out of piracy for life."

She showed Katara the poster she had in her back.

"I'm a mercenary," Azula replied, "I work for the highest bidder. You though, Katara—you're too young. When I first received the summary of who my target was, they never told me it was a teenage girl. I thought you would be a grown woman or something."

"I'm obviously not," Katara replied, "I'm only 14 tomorrow."

"I know," Azula replied, "and I overlooked that part. I can kill just about anyone, but I can't bring myself to kill children. You're far too young to be a target like this, Katara."

"I'm not afraid of death," Katara declared, "I have two years left to live anyways. The thing that angers me is that they want to use me—that now I know people want me dead just because I'm different—just because I have more power than I can control. I'd like to see them—or anyone for that matter; go a day with as much power as I have. I want to see how well THEY can control it. Surely no one is foolish enough to think that a teenage girl should be able to harness that much energy without having a mishap? What am I supposed to do?"

"You need to stand firm and not be afraid," Azula replied, "fear rules only those weak enough to accept it. Let fate decide what will happen."

"I just want to see my family again," Katara sighed, "I miss them all so much. I wish I could be back in my daddy's arms again."

Azula frowned.

"You were a daddy's girl, weren't you?" she remarked,

Katara closed her eyes and nodded silently.

"I was born in the Southern Water Tribe," she replied, "and with all of my recent travels, the only places I haven't been are the Southern Air Temple and the Fire Nation."

"How peculiar," Azula remarked, "a firebender who has never been to the Fire Nation. Well, we'll rectify that sooner or later when it shows up on our schedule. For now though, enjoy the realm that I grew up in. Welcome, Katara, to the Western Air Temple."

"Wait," Katara paused, "why did you grow up here?"

"Because this was the only way I cold escape the rampant prejudice," Azula replied, "my parents named me Azula because of hatred. They abandoned me in the Fire Nation, where I was persecuted in my early childhood. I was adopted several times, but my name always brought me a bad reputation. Some say it's a curse or something from the spirits. I know the truth about it though—like any other name, 'Azula' is just a name—it's just another group of letters."

"Over a name," Katara exclaimed, "that's ridiculous."

"Over power," Azula exclaimed, "that's ridiculous as well, Katara. People these days are heartless. I'm on the same page as you, kid. But aye, it was over my bloody name. Apparently there hasn't been an Azula that hasn't done damage to the world—it's no wonder people didn't trust me. The only ones who understood me were the Air Nomads of this Temple, [though I probably could have gone to one of the others—but this was the closest one to the Fire Nation]."

"I hate when people get after other people over things they can't control," Katara replied, "you didn't choose to be named Azula, and I didn't choose to have so much power that it's gonna kill me."

"That," Azula remarked, "and my family's name wasn't the purest either. Regardless, it's in the past."

"So," Katara asked curiously, "what was Tenoko going to do for me tomorrow? You said she had something planned."

"Aye," Azula replied, "she does. However, shouldn't you be asking HER about that, since it's her that has something planned?"

Katara couldn't really argue with Azula's logic, and so she went to find Tenoko. The Air Nomads were all very friendly, and Katara enjoyed her time there with them.

Eventually, she stumbled into Tenoko, and when she did, her blunt nature took over and asked her the question.

"We noticed that during out travels, you enjoyed the sanctuary of the Air Temples more than anywhere else. You may not have said anything to us, but we observed it from your actions. You just seemed happier there. Why exactly is that?"

"Because of the Air Nomads," Katara replied, "they're the smart ones for staying out of this war. Their neutrality and lack of prejudice is what I like about them. They're some of the few people who see me for what I am—I'm just a girl. I'm not a weapon, I'm not a freak. I just have more power than I can control. It's not something I am in charge of. Trust me, I don't want this power. If I could get rid of it, I would."

"Katara," Tenoko remarked, "if we didn't understand that fat, we would be treating you still as a prisoner, instead of as a friend. The war has done damage to all of us. We want it over just like you do."

"I want to see my family more than anything," Katara replied, "even more than I want this war over."

"And you deserve to see them," Tenoko replied, "by all means. It saddens me that I can do nothing for you in that regard. What I can do though is prolong our stay here. Kick back and enjoy yourself. It's not every day that a girl turns 14, you know."

Katara smiled—a genuine smile. "So you're disrupting all your plans just because I had a birthday?" she asked curiously,

"Well," Tenoko replied, "that among a few other things. That boy you have a crush on seems to like you back too."

"He... he-d... what;" Katara stammered, "I... I don't have a crush on... I'm only... he... me... I like what?"

Tenoko laughed.

"He's waiting for you," she replied, and pointed in Rafai's direction. He wasn't visible, but Tenoko knew where he was. Katara may not have admitted it, and neither did Rafai, but they had sort of been eyeing each other for a little while. While neither one thought about a further relationship, they did enjoy a little interaction with each other.

Apparently Katara had taken a little too much time, for Rafai came looking for her, and they ran into each other. There was a moment of awkwardness, and it was eventually Rafai who broke it.

"Hey," he remarked, smiling, and Katara smiled back.

"Hi," she said, blushing, "nice day, isn't it?"

Rafai looked up at the sky from the upside-down hanging structures that were the Western Air Temple. Katara was right, though of course, this was only intended as small talk.

"I... um... I got something for you," Rafai stammered,

"Oh?" Katara exclaimed, her tan-skinned face going slightly pink,

"Aye," Rafai replied, "come here and I'll show you."

"Try it on," was all he said after he took her to the room he had been talking about. He closed to door to give her privacy, and Katara was alone. The room was just another bedroom of sorts, but in front of Katara was an elaborate outfit that looked like it was probably worth a lot of money. Clearly it had likely been stolen among other things, for Rafai, Tenoko, Azula, and their bunch were all pirates. Nevertheless, Katara figured that pirates will be pirates, and so she didn't feel too guilty about now owning "stolen property".

Katara got completely changed into it, and looked her self over. Everything about it felt so light. Despite the shirt being long-sleeved and the dress going to her ankles, she felt very comfortable in it. her shoes were much less massive than the huge boots she was used to wearing, but altogether, without the heavy gear-like clothing she was used to wearing, this was actually a pleasant change.

She smiled, turning slightly pink. As with any gift, she always had the curious urge to ask where the person giving it to her got it from, and unfortunately, she let this slip as she stepped out to "flaunt" herself.

Rafai blushed slightly, knowing the truth.

"Well," he replied, deciding to take it bluntly, "it was stolen, like most of our things were. Either way, you look pretty cute in it—though it looks a tiny bit big on you."

"Aye," Katara replied, "but either way... I... um, I like it."

"I'm glad you do," he replied, blushing. He didn't tell them that it had actually been Azula who had properly stolen it, but he was trying to 'impress' her, and, incidentally, Katara didn't ask if he had actually stolen it or not. Regardless, she assumed she knew why he had given it to her today of all times.

"So what's this for," she asked curiously as the two of them started walking, "I mean, is there an occasion?"

"Other than your birthday," Rafai replied, "not really. You're our friend though, Katara. Remember—we're on your side."

"I know," Katara replied, "I've just got a few problems of my own that I need to work on."

"Don't we all," Rafai replied, "either way, happy birthday."

Katara smiled. At least she was going to have one good day for the first time in a while...


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

While it wasn't actually a "date" technically, Rafai and Katara did spend much of the day together. Outside of the Temple, the Air Nomad lands were very beautiful places to see, and Katara enjoyed them a lot. She also enjoyed her new dress, but, not being very good around people, she didn't really know what to say, even to Rafai. Rafai noticed this, and he thought something was wrong, and so he asked her.

"Are you alright?" he asked as they were walking through an open field. There were trees around them, and with the exception of a breeze, possibly from the airbenders somewhere, it was quiet.

"Aye," Katara replied, "I'm fine. I... I guess I just miss my family."

"What happened to them," Rafai asked, having never heard the full story, "surely they didn't die like mine did."

"no," Katara replied, "well, I think my dad is dead... my brother said that he might be alive, but it's been nearly 10 years since I last saw him... he... he meant everything to me..."

Katara closed her eyes, for they were starting to water.

"family is an important thing to have," Rafai remarked, "no 15 year old kid should have to be pulled apart from 'em that easily."

"You're 15," Katara asked,

"Aye," Rafai replied, chuckling slightly, "what, did you think it made me superior to you or something?"

"Umm..." Katara stammered, bushing slightly," no, it's just..."

Rafai put his arm around her and smiled.

"It's just me and you here, Katara," he remarked, "if you still don't feel like saying something, then don't push yourself. I mean, we're just friends, right? It's not like we do already trust each other with our secrets or anything. We're too young."

"It's not that," Katara replied, "I'm just not very good with people, because I hate people—I hate people a lot. I want to be left alone—to be able to learn to control my powers without people trying to take me and use me for their own selfish desires."

"That's wrong," Rafai remarked, "you're way too young to be taken and manipulated like that. You're just a kid—we both are."

"Do you think they care," Katara remarked, "to them, I have power, so I'm useful. Trust me; power is not something you want. Power is a weakness—the fatality of the human race. Power is MY weakness. I hate it—it's the cause of all my troubles."

It was apparent that Katara was getting frustrated, and, like anyone else who knew Katara, they knew that this wasn't a good thing.

"Katara, calm down," Rafai warned, "you're tensing up again. I know I can't really do anything about your situation either, but just keep in mind that even if you don't ever decide to do it again, that you at least have one good day to look back on. I want you to be happy, Katara. I'm probably not your "dream guy" by any means, but I hate it when you're angry. You just seem so... so...

"So dangerous," Katara growled, finishing his sentence for him. She sat down beside a big a rock and sighed.

"Aye," Rafai replied, "and you don't look like the type who was designed to be that way, Katara. Look at yourself."

He pulled out a small mirror. It was just a slab of glass—nothing fancy by any means, but a mirror, fancy or not, served the same purpose. He handed it to Katara, who looked at herself. She looked puzzled, as she did not know what Rafai's intentions were. However, her puzzled expression was exactly what he had hoped for. Underneath the layer of anger that the girl had developed, was a tone of innocence; confusion.

Katara's true nature was one of a curious style. Had she led a normal life, she would have likely been a very cheery little girl. Though because of her physical and mental scars, that was no longer possible, Katara was far from being "past feeling". With a little care, she could easily become a pleasant young woman to be around.

"What am I supposed to be looking at?" she asked,

"The girl in the mirror," Rafai replied, "looks deep into your own eyes, Katara. I've seen it; Azula's seen it, Tenoko has seen it; even the likes of Shai, Kotu, Haru, and Norik have seen it."

Katara was the only teenaged girl in Tenoko's crew. Azula was in her mid-20s, Tenoko was 41, and the other women looked somewhere in between that. The youngest women were in their late teens, but still ousted Katara by 5 or 6 years. There were several teenaged boys though; Shai, Kotu, Haru, and Norik being a few of them, namely some of Rafai's peers. They were friendly towards Katara once she became a little more sociable to Tenoko's crew, but they didn't know her the same way Rafai did, and they didn't find that 'love' interest in her either.

Incidentally, Katara didn't ever really seem like the type who would form a lasting relationship, though she was still young, and therefore had plenty of opportunity, assuming she ever had that desire.

"I see myself," Katara replied bluntly, stating the obvious, "I see the same me that has been there—confused, angry, upset—I hate people."

"Exactly," Rafai replied, "you're confused. Do you know why?"  
"No," Katara replied, "If I knew I wouldn't be confused."

"I don't know either," Rafai added, "but I think it's because deep down, you don't want to be angry. You're just upset at what fate has done to you."

Rafai paused, and looked Katara in the eyes. Katara, not being able to look people directly in the eyes, shied away, but Rafai didn't care.

"Of course," he said, "I'm no sage or anything. If you're really curious, why not ask one of the Air Sisters that live here—or one of the old wise sages that occasionally shows up here."

[Possibly because of their near extinction, the culture of the Air Nomads changed only so slightly. One of the main aspects was that none of the air temples were gender-exclusive anymore.]

"Alright," Katara replied, though they kept walking for a while. The only other event that happened was that Katara had another chi attack, and unfortunately, this acted as a signal because of its immensity. This being the reason she was captured [albeit by Azula and Tenoko] last time, Katara knew that this would not be good.

"GAH," she growled, recovering her stance and turning to Rafai, "I knew I should have gotten rid of it before I came. I've got to leave soon. That was likely seen at least from the Fire Nation. The Order's got spies everywhere. I can't stay here, I need to—"

But Rafai cut her off.

"We'll blend you in if anything," he said, "we're not leaving, because our crew doesn't run. The closer you are to danger, Katara, the farther you are from harm. If a fight does bring itself this way, we'll make it happen."

Regardless, the two of them eventually did return to the temple, around the time the sun began to set in the western sky. It was Rafai who alerted Tenoko about what had happened to Katara.

"Is she alright," Tenoko asked, referring to Katara,

"Aye," Rafai replied, "she just went to change back into her old things. Either way, I don't think she should stay here—not if something like that does happen. I mean—even we aren't exactly safe either."

"We never are," Tenoko chuckled, "but don't worry about it, Rafai. We'll be fine. Remember, we die for the cause. If we have, to do so defending the Western Air Temple of the armies of The Order, then so be it."

"Captain Dragmire," Rafai asked curiously, neither of them noticing Katara come back; she stood behind them to hear what Tenoko and Rafai were about to say, and she did so quietly. "I've got something to ask you—how are you so confident all the time?"

Tenoko did not reply at first. It took her a while for her to devise her answer, but it was well worth the wait.

"Because," Tenoko replied, "I've been through a lot. I've had my share of trials, and although some have nearly devastated me, I never let them control me. Once I made a determination to do something I stuck to it, and am still sticking to it until my objective is complete."

"What is that objective," Rafai asked curiously, "surely you do not seek after money, right?"  
"No," Tenoko replied, "I seek something more valuable to me—I seek the knowledge of what happened to my little Kemet and Komae. They were my 2nd set of twins, and they were the ones whose bodies were never found. The only other Dragmire family I know are a couple of kids named Maric and Malak, but they've got folks of their own.

Either way, I refuse to stop until they are found or their deaths confirmed. Never assume anyone is dead unless you actually see them. There is a good chance that if for some reason you were separated, that fate will eventually bring you back together."

Incidentally, these words struck true with Katara, and even Rafai was aware of it. Katara now had to wait to time her appearance just right, for Rafai had started talking about her.

"That would be good advice for Katara," he remarked, "she's always talking about her father, and how she thinks that he might still be alive. You should tell her that, Capt—err, Tenoko."

Tenoko chuckled, having gotten tired of "Captain Dragmire", and now just wanting to be called Tenoko again.

"Aye," Tenoko replied, "she'd do well to know it. She told me once that her father is the reason she keeps on keeping on."

Halfway through that sentence was when Katara stepped in. She didn't say anything, but she did glance at the two of them. She was back in her everyday things, and was fiddling with the braces on her arms. It was these that helped her better channel her energy, which might have explained why Katara's energy went unchecked earlier while she was with Rafai. Regardless, she had put that behind her.

Naturally, they didn't think it was right to be talking about Katara without clueing her in, but after they recapped what they just said, she chuckled, telling them that she had slipped in as Rafai had asked his question. They chuckled.

"You've got a bright mind, Toph," Tenoko replied, using Katara's nickname. Incidentally, though there was nothing wrong with the nickname 'Toph' [in fact, many would call it a compliment, considering that Toph was also the name of the legendary hero who had fought in the 100-Year War]; Katara didn't like it, because Katara didn't like nicknames. She had a fondness for her name which caused her to dislike any alternatives;

"Though that sense of stealth that you displayed back there will serve you well in your later years, especially if the war lasts that long;"

"Call me Katara please," Katara replied, then turning back to Tenoko's subject, "I hope that this war doesn't last that long. Even if I do only have 2 years left to live, I want to live them in peace—by myself."

"You'd leave us again," Tenoko asked curiously, and this was where Katara became slightly torn. Long ago she had resolutely said that she would live alone, and hates people, but Tenoko's group—herself, Tenoko, Azula, Rafai, and the rest of them—had all impacted Katara. She found that they liked her as well as friends. Ultimately, they were her friends, and they cared about her in a way that previously only Sokka had.

Katara took a long time to respond. Eventually though, she did.

"I..." she stammered, "I don't know. I just feel so confused. I... I think I'd want to stay with you all. Other than my brother, you all are my only real friends I have. I—I want to find him again."

"The Blazing Phoenix has no objectives other than those that its crew creates," Tenoko declared proudly, "Katara Altina II, if you wish to find your brother, than we'll take you back to Gaoling."

It was here that Katara remembered that it was actually their fault that she and Sokka had been separated in the first place.

"Sorry about pulling you two apart in the first place," Tenoko replied, "we did it for the same reason why we're looking after you—we didn't want people taking you."

"I understand," Katara replied, having matured slightly during her months with them, "you taught me a lot by doing that. I can't say I thank you, but... either way... it's—it's done me well."

"Glad to hear it," Tenoko smiled. "Remember Katara, we'll be here for you if you ever need us. You're part of us now."

Katara smiled. Though she was still worried about getting found here, she knew now that at least she had friends to help her.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Unfortunately, Katara's premonition about them getting found was right, but it wasn't as bad as she had thought. When Katara had been worrying, she has also been worrying about the Air Nomads getting raided because of her, similar to the way her village had [though it was not solely because of Katara that her Water Tribe village had been raided, but that's another story].

However, apparently The Order of the Avatar Slayer had keen Zuroc Sensei that was on par with the likes of Azula or her group. In fact, Katara's new captor was so stealthy that Katara did not even notice that she had been taken. Needless to say, it had been when she was sleeping [and about a week or two after her birthday], and unfortunately for Katara, she was a heavy sleeper.

She woke up bound at the wrists, the ankles, and at the mouth. She was being carried, but she could not tell where—she could only see things behind them getting smaller. She had no idea where they were, who her captors were, or where she was being taken, but she knew that they were definitely out of the Air Nomad Lands.

Katara had nothing with her but the clothes on her back. Incidentally, they were pretty much the only possessions she had anyways except for a few drawings, but she figured that Tenoko's crew still had those. Moreover, at this point, she was not too concerned about them.

Katara's captors were swift and tireless. Katara's ride was a bit bumpy, but again, there was nothing she could do about it other than waits the evening out—or so she thought.

This would be one of the few times when Katara's energy bursts came in handy—the invaluable type of 'handy'. Katara was used to being so hot, that it took her a while to also realize that her hands had been frozen, which meant that this group had at least one skilled waterbender in their midst, but Katara thought nothing of it. If it was a fight they wanted, it was a fight they'd get.

Incidentally, the 'fight' was provoked by something Katara could not help, and her captors had been warned by the leader, Ozuma, that she was prone to uncontrollable attacks, and that she should be treated with care. It was this reason that they had frozen Katara's hands in ice. However, not even rock could stop the might of Katara's unchecked bending energy. She could feel it coming, and would have warned the man carrying her, but she had a rope in her mouth, and so all it came out as was grumbling.

"Shut it," the man snapped bluntly, and nothing more was thought of it. However, that man only remained in alright condition for a few more seconds. After that, chaos erupted as Katara was blasted up, her bonds breaking [save the one in her mouth] from the force of the powerful, uncontrolled flames that were channeled out of her hands and feet. The man however, got the full blast of the flames, and was most likely killed on the spot.

The reason that Katara was never hurt as much as anyone in front of her when she had these 'chi-attacks' was simple: the flames blasted forward, which was why she was usually sent backwards.

Katara didn't exactly make a graceful landing, but she was on her feet before anyone could get too close to her, her arms flared. Fiercely spewing a bolt of fire from her mouth, the burned the rope there and was able to talk again.

The flames on Katara's arms case the young girl's face into high relief in the darkness that Ozuma's gang had been traveling in. Fire literally showed in her eyes [from her arms], and she looked furious.

"What does it take for you people to leave me ALONE!?!" she roared, taking a few steps back. A 14-year-old girl naturally wasn't too keen on fighting around 20 adult men and women, all of whom looked very skilled at what they did.

Katara didn't want to fight, but she also did not fear death, and she definitely did not want to be captured. After she had thought everything out, she figured that fighting would be her best option this time, and so with her stance ready, her arms flared and her warning given, she was ready for the onslaught.

"You're a kid," one of the women remarked, brandishing a knife, "surely even with crazy amounts of power like you have, you can surely not even have a dream of defeating all of us."

"I don't," Katara replied, "I don't fear death either. I am NOT going to be captured and used like a tool. I'm a living thing too. I have my own feelings, my own thoughts, and my own personality. I'm not just a fire-shooting machine. Learn that, and then get out of my life."

"You're a danger to this world, girl," Ozuma sneered, creating flames on his hands as well. He stepped towards Katara, and naturally, even though Katara was not afraid of death, she was still young, and this man looked to be older and more experienced. Moreover, Katara didn't trust any of them, (she didn't trust anyone, but especially not these assassins) and so she took a step backwards.

"I know I am," Katara replied, "so leave me alone and let me be a danger to myself, and myself only."

"And that's what makes you useful; Katara Altina II" he smirked, "setting you loose in a town could be devastating if we made sure it was the right conditions. If only you weren't so stubborn..."

"I've said it before and I'll say it again," Katara snapped, "I want no part in this war. I'm too young, and I want to be left alone!"

"And I want you for my group," Ozuma replied, "but it looks like we all can't get what we want, so I guess the strongest person will win."

"Very well," Katara remarked, "if it's a fight that you want, then it's a fight you'll get."

Katara knew that she was going to lose, but she wanted to take down as many Zuroc Sensei [Ozuma's warriors] as she could, and so, the battle began, and it was violent.

Katara knew that they would be fast, and so she used some defensive maneuvers that Azula and Tenoko had taught her to hold them off. There were benders of water, earth, and fire in Ozuma's group though, and Katara found it hard to hold them back. She launched powerful blasts of fire towards them, hitting one squarely in the face, and that man did not get back up.

Ozuma knew that a teenage girl's stamina would drain faster than any of his warriors, and so he let them go at her as they pleased. They seemed to want to take her on one on one, wanting to be the one who defeated her. However, Katara may have lacked control, but that did not mean she was easy to beat. She was violent when she was angry, and she was very angry at this point.

Katara's 2nd challenger was a woman, who used swift shards of ice to slash at Katara. The first blood was drawn as Katara was swiped across the chest. She clutched it and stared down for a moment, putting her hand to her wound. She pulled it back to find it red, and not from the fingerless glove that she wore, but rather, from her own blood.

She glared back at the waterbender, who was swiftly darting this way and that. Katara concentrated on her, taking steps to avoid her attacks, and trying to "lock on" to her with her next attack.

Eventually, she found just the right time. Launching her fist forward, she sent a flame the curved around, seemingly missing her opponent. Right as her opponent lunged towards Katara though, something hit her squarely in the back, and her eyes grew wide. She fell, face down, revealing a huge black mark that had blasted away parts of her back and much of the back of her neck. This had killed her, but the moment she died, another one came at her, this one also female.

She was accompanied by a man. Apparently no one had expected this girl to be able to defeat even one of Ozuma's soldiers, but she had already defeated three [the man carrying her, and the two challengers] of them.

These two were earthbenders, and very swift ones. They lacked power, but they linked their moves together in such a way that Katara was getting battered from what seemed to be every angle. She began bleeding in more and more places, and she knew she had broken something. However, in her fury, she spun around; blasting out an attack that no one knew she was capable of—red lightning.

Katara had been able to wield lightning from a young age because of the sheer amount of energy she possessed, but controlling it was even harder than trying to control her fire, and so at this point, while she was still in her young and unstable age, she only used it in desperate situations like this one.

She blasted it outwards in many directions, and not only did it blast right through the couple that was attacking her, but one of the bolts took out a total of 6 more of Ozuma's men.

Ozuma's eyes widened as a different bolt nearly singed his hair, but his swift reflexes and training in the art of combat had taught him a thing or two, and he had met and fought chi-dominant benders in his life before, and so knew how to handle them, though never had he fought one with such an extreme case like Katara's. Nonetheless, he knew that he would pick up the girl's tactics soon enough.

Katara was staggering to remain on her feet, having been rather nastily battered, and launching that huge lightning blast, which had surprised everyone, had done badly for her body's condition as well. It was obvious that the body of a 14-year-old girl was not designed to channel that much power, let alone in a single move.

"Had enough yet," one of Ozuma's fighters leered as he and his friend came at her; both of these men were firebenders, and seemed to be good with lightning. Katara grumbled and muttered something about having enough under her breath, but she persisted.

"Leave... me... ALONE!!!" Katara roared, spewing fire all around her in defense of her wounded self. The two firebenders were no match for the sheer force of the flame, despite the fact that they were able to successfully redirect some of them back at Katara, hitting her. She flipped head over heels and fell painfully on her face. By this time, she was bleeding all over, and had trouble getting up.

Nonetheless, she did. Blood from her nose and forehead dripped into her eyes and mouth, and yet she looked determined to continue. To see the stony face of the resolute young girl thrown into relief in the darkness, only Illuminated by a few torches that Ozuma's group had been carrying, and flames form the firebenders, was actually a rather chilling sight.

Katara could feel her ankles about to give way, and she knew that she had lost. However, she had taken 13 of Ozuma's warriors with her.

She decided to go for one more, for she could feel that she was about to drop from fatigue. She ignored the blood that was all around her, dripping from her battered form like water at this point. Aiming at a man charging towards her, she pointed both of her bloodstained arms towards the man and blasted flames that spiraled towards him like serpents. He was swift at dodging them, but the streams of flame were long enough to catch his face and feet, disabling him, where he fell to the ground and slowly died.

14 of Ozuma's 20-warrior group had been defeated here, but Ozuma himself was unfazed. These were not his elite men, but rather just some of his 'pawns', despite their skill. Either way, 2/3 of the group had been killed by a 14-year-old girl. Granted, said 14-year-old-girl was a powerful chi-dominant bender, but either way, it had taken serious effort to bring young Katara Altina II down.

Katara fell unconscious in a pool of her own blood, where Ozuma collected her and the rest of his group stood ready for orders.

"Carry on," he remarked, "Katara Altina II is in our clutches now, and so we have no other business here at the moment. Leave the dead."

They had no intention of letting Katara die though, and even though she was unconscious, Katara was aware of that. Nonetheless, she had been defeated, and she had seen it coming. She accepted her fate—for now.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Katara did not by any means plan to let her captors manipulate her like they had hoped to, and so she immediately got to work devising a plan on how to escape from their clutches the moment she returned to consciousness. Moreover, it was one of the only things that she COULD do at this point, for her injuries had kicked in, and she was otherwise virtually incapacitated. Her ankles seemed to be broken, and she was pretty sure that she had broken a few of her ribs as well.

She awoke though; in the medical room of what she assumed was a ship. Ironically, it was almost as if this medical room was familiar, but in her muzzy state, Katara could not quite identify if or where she had seen it. Regardless, she did not assume that Ozuma and his gang had traveled alone, nor did she think that they would remain in the Air nomad lands, where there was little or no war, unless foolish Order invaders decided not to respect the Air Nomads' declaration and attack. Therefore, she logically concluded that they owned a ship, and that they had some sort of healers on board in case any of them got injured. With a war going on, it was foolish to travel the seas without them.

Katara looked around and saw that the room she was in was deserted. Her wounds though, were bandaged, and, apart form her pains she was in otherwise comfortable conditions. Her clothes had been removed for medical reasons, [but she still had her undergarments on at this point], but to her surprise, she saw them on the nearby nightstand.

Another thing Katara noticed about her whole body was that she was cleaned up completely. She had obviously lost a lot of blood. Also by her bed was a pair of crutches. Apparently they knew enough about Katara's curious nature to know that she would try to get up and look around. She did, because she wanted to find out where she was going, who she was with, and how she was going to be treated. Pulling herself up, she eventually got on her feet, using the crutches to keep her balance. She limped on both feet though, which made walking, even with them, especially difficult. She made her way to the door, when she suddenly heard a voice—a familiar voice.

"You didn't think that we were just going to let them take you away like that, did you?" the voice laughed. Katara spun around and saw Tenoko leaning against the wall, her arms cross and one of her legs against the wall, her other being her method of balance.

"Tenoko," Katara exclaimed, "why... how..."

"Because this is umm... my ship;" Tenoko laughed, "we kicked Ozuma's butt nice and easily, and took your bleeding, broken form back and have nursed you back to health. Welcome back to The Blazing Phoenix, Katara. We missed you quite a bit."

"How long have I been out?" Katara asked, deciding to sit down. Moreover, she had also just remembered that she was still in her undergarments, and although [according to the male crew members] she was kind of cute, she didn't feel like going out there like that.

"You've been out at least 4 days," Tenoko replied, "you lost a lot of blood, and your firebending decided to spazz a few times."

"Damn, it" Katara muttered, "Even when I'm out cold my powers don't give me a rest. Ah, that's annoying."

"Well, you're safe for now," Tenoko remarked, "but either way, new need to get you to the Fire Nation."

"why," Katara asked curiously, "I mean; I know it and the Southern Air Temple are the only places I haven't been to, but it's not like I NEED to go there, do I?"

"No," Tenoko replied, "but you'd blend in much better there."

"Why can't I just stay with you all?" Katara asked curiously,

"Well," Tenoko replied, "I have other business that I need to tend to as well, so the crew of The Blazing Phoenix is splitting up for the time being. Rafai said he would go with you."

Katara smiled. Rafai was her best friend out of Tenoko's crew, but even though they were close, they didn't seem to be planning on a permanent commitment. Of course, they were only 14 and 15, so perhaps that would come in a few years.

"What about the rest of you?" Katara asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to find my children," Tenoko declared, "Azula and a few others are going to stay with the ship and possibly find some side work, and some of the other guys are just going to go and look for something to do. All in all, you're going to need one of these."

Tenoko handed Katara a gold coin that had Tenoko's seal on it.

"If someone passes the word to you, Toph," said Tenoko, using Katara's nickname again, "be sure to let any fellow crewmates that you run into see this somehow. Don't lose it, and don't spend it."

Katara chuckled.

"I'm barely 14," she remarked, "that doesn't mean I'm stupid though."

"Get some rest then, kid." Tenoko laughed, "You need it. You were in nasty condition when we found you."

And that was what Katara did. All in all, her trip to the Fire Nation was not very eventful because she only finished recovering on the last day of the voyage, during which time she heard a rather interesting story, and her friend Haru seemed to be the talk around Rafai and his little gang of guys that he usually hung out with.

Naturally, Katara, being the curious young girl that she was, did ask Rafai what had happened [and of course, this being several days after she woke up, she had obviously gotten dressed since that time]. Rafai, who couldn't help but laugh during the course of events, said that he [Haru] had been "seduced" by a girl named Josika. Haru [one of the older young men] did not disclose very many details, but Josika had been seen on the ship. Luckily, Tenoko didn't mind, as the story naturally spread to her as captain, and she found it funny.

"Don't worry, Haru," Tenoko laughed, "we'll be landing at the Fire Nation within a few hours, and then you can get away from them.

Haru said nothing, and so suffered through the playful taunts that Norik, Shai, Rafai, and the likes tossed at him every now and again. However, it also got Katara thinking about relationships in general, and so she confronted Rafai regarding the matter. After all, their relationship was unclear, and, though they did not know it at the time, it would remain unclear for many, many years. Katara asked him if anything like that would ever happen between them.

"Not if you didn't want it to," Rafai replied, "it's not like I think we ever plan on... I mean, we're just friends, right?"

"That's what I always assumed," Katara replied, "I... I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page."

"That's a respectable idea," Rafai replied, "even a normal friendship cannot function properly unless it's that way."

"I can't wait to see the Fire Nation," Katara remarked, changing the subject slightly, having run out of other things to say regarding relationships; "the stories I've heard make me want to go there."

"Well," Rafai commented, "you ARE a firebender."

"But I was born and raised in the Southern Water Tribe," Katara remarked, "I've never been to the Fire Nation."

"That's why we're going," Rafai replied, "but we're going to have to get you some new clothes so that you'll blend in like e refugee."

"Does that mean I'm gonna have to be flaunting my midriff like most of those other Fire Nation girls I've met before?" Katara groaned,

Rafai stammered, knowing the truthful answer, but not wanting to upset young Katara.

"Err, "he stammered, turning slightly red, "you might have to. Either way, you'll err... be with me. And I think you're sexy."

"That was... blunt," Katara muttered, turning pink,

"I thought you said you liked bluntness," Rafai questioned,

"I do," Katara replied, "I hate when people talk in riddles."

"Then what's the problem," he asked her,

Katara said nothing, because she couldn't really think of anything other than the awkwardness that had sifted into the area and surrounded them both, though mainly around Katara.

Eventually, Rafai decided to break it by getting up.

"Well," he remarked, "I'm going to go ask Tenoko a few things, so I guess we'll meet up when we land, alright?"  
"That works," Katara replied bluntly, and so the two of them parted ways. Katara went out on the deck and looked at the ocean, and saw smoke in the distance from the many volcanoes that were in the Fire Nation's lands and islands. She still missed Sokka, and also missed her mother, whom she had since realized was not against her.

Either way, she still had her violent mood swings, and even Rafai wasn't immune to them. However, like Sokka, he was a patient young man, and he served well as the voice of reason for Katara in Sokka's absence.

During this time, she decided to draw again. Because of all of her crazy travels as of recent, she had actually started a series of drawings, almost like a picture book. They were scenes from her life, mainly from when she and Sokka first were separated from their mother. Katara had a bad tendency though to emphasize violent scenes in her life, particularly if she was the one getting hurt. She had at least 7 images alone of the fight she had had with Sokka before that mysterious boy had picked them up and taken them to the hospital. Out of these 7, only 2 of them showed her hurting Sokka. The others were him hurting her.

It was not because she hated Sokka, but rather, she was angry with herself for acting the way she did, and she enjoyed venting her anger out by bringing back memories of him hurting her, because she felt that she deserved it for being such a handful.

Katara spent a lot of time making more drawings. Incidentally, she had never shown them to anyone on the ship, for she was usually left alone unless when went out looking for someone on the ship. This time though, Azula peered in. Her original intention was just to see if Katara was alright, for although she seemed fine, her legs were slightly unstable. However, when she saw Katara leaning over the table the way she was, frantically scribbling, she knew Katara was up to something of course.

"What are you writing?" she asked curiously; incidentally, Katara was drawing [since she can't write] an image of Azula.

"I can't write," Katara chuckled, not looking up, "I can't read either."

"Then what are you... sweet spirits..."

Azula wasn't even able to finish her sentence. Katara's image of Azula was not bad by any means, but rather, really, really good. Katara was a freakishly good artist [possibly because any free time she had she spent drawing or bending], and her rendition of Azula was very accurate, and her pose was... awesome. There wasn't really any other word for it. She had two fingers out like she was about to shoot lightning, and was crouched down, her face clearly indicating that she was seconds away from attacking.

"I'd write your name," Katara shrugged, "but I don't know how to write."

Azula was still shocked, as Katara started wrapping up on her current project, adding more detail.

"Katara, that's amazing," Azula remarked, "how did you learn to draw like that?"

"Simple," Katara shrugged, "you just have to spend half your life doing nothing else, and you're bound to be good at it. Drawing and bending are the only two things in the world that I'm good at, so I do that a lot."

"Well," Azula replied, knowing that Katara didn't like attention, "I just came in to tell you that we've landed. You've been in here a while."

"Alright then," Katara replied, and started packing her things. She had little else other than her clothes and her drawings, and so she was ready to get off as soon as anyone else was.

She met up with Rafai just as planned, and they left into the realms of the Fire Nation together.

Rafai didn't say this to Katara, but Tenoko had warned him to keep a close eye on Katara so that no one else did the same thing to her that they did. To them, Katara was their close friend. Either way, yet another page was about to unfold in Katara's history, as her journeys and adventures in the Fire Nation had begun.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Katara, having never been to the Fire Nation before, didn't know where to go and where not to go, and so she trusted Rafai to lead her. Of course, he did, but both he and Katara could tell that this was not the best place for Katara to be at the time.

Although they didn't actually eavesdrop, the two of them did hear a lot of talk about the war, and this upset Katara more than anything, because she ultimately blamed the war for her misfortune. Had it been times of peace, she would not be sought after for her powers, and none of the attacks and raids on their village and Katara's family would have ever happened either.

"We need to get you to blend in better, Katara," he whispered, "I heard your name back there."

Katara's eyes flipped open. "You're kidding, right?" she exclaimed, as Rafai led them around the corner and into an alleyway

"Would I lie about something that I know you hate that much," Rafai asked, "Katara, I might be pretty laid-back, but you're important to me. I seriously did hear the name Katara Altina back there."

"Katara Altina," Katara muttered, "Rafai, wait a second—was there a suffix attached to the name?

After all, this would make a lot of difference, as if it was Katara Altina I they were talking about; then Katara might get a lead about where her mother is. If it was Katara Altina II, then it probably didn't mean anything good, and Katara would relocate.

"It was your name," Rafai replied, "and that man has a bounty hunter who is notoriously skilled at what he does. I think he might be sending that man after you, Katara. We need to get you to blend in."

"How do I do that?" Katara asked, and, to her surprise, it was not Rafai that answered, but rather, a woman behind them.

She was an earthbender by the looks of her, and she looked well-built. She looked strong enough to break Katara's arms with her bare hands, yet her face, though tough in appearance, seemed nicer.

"We blend you in the same way the Avatar did over a thousand years ago," the woman replied, "make you look more Fire Nation-y."

"I do look Fire Nation-y," Katara replied, "I'm even a firebender."

"but those clothes are more for a guy rather than a girl," the woman replied, "and besides, people will know who you are, because that's one of a few things that they use to recognize you."

Katara paused, and then turned to glare at this woman.

"Who are you," she snapped, "and how do you know who I am?"

"Call me Zak," the woman replied, "I'm not going to explain everything, but I'm in hiding as well. I've been looking for you."

"Why," Katara asked, "what's so special about me? Don't tell me you're one of those war supporters."

"If I was," Zak laughed, "I wouldn't be coming up and talking to you; I would have just punched you hard enough to knock you out."

Katara looked back at the woman skeptically.

"What do you want then?" she asked,

"Come with me," Zak said, "if you're going to be on your own for a while, you should at least have a place to live, am I right?"

Katara didn't reply. She didn't exactly trust this woman just yet, probably because they had only met a few minutes pervious, and Katara hated people on a general basis. Rafai though, thought differently.

"Katara," he whispered, "I think we should trust her. She does have a point about not wanting to use you. She looks strong enough to rip you in half. I think she would have used force if she wanted to take you. How many people actually stop to talk to you?"

Katara sighed. "I've had people call me an 'it' before," she remarked, "they acted like I wasn't even capable of normal activities. When I tried explaining my case to them, they just got surprised that I was even able to talk. I hate people. I hate people so much!"

"Katara, calm down," Rafai warned, "just relax. You're not like that. We both know it. You can talk, and you talk perfectly well."

"I know," Katara replied, "and why can't people see that? I'm only human."

"Because people are ignorant and prejudiced," Zak interjected, "Katara, I understand your troubles. People don't think I'm human either."

"You're one of her kind?" Rafai exclaimed, and at once, after seeing Katara's face, he knew that this had been a very bad thing to say. Katara got up and started storming off. She hated when people called Chi-Dominant Benders "her kind", like they were a different species. Rafai, in his ignorance, did not know this until now.

"Katara," he exclaimed, but Katara was already storming off.

"We need to get to her," Zak warned, "if she's off on her own, she's going to get taken by The Order, thus making our acts pointless."

"Why did she get so upset over that though?" Rafai asked as they began trying to find out where Katara had run off to. It was times like this that Rafai wished Katara wasn't in as good of shape as she was.

"chi-dominant benders do not like to be seen as "different" people," Zak replied, "other than they're powers, they're only human. It's basically a similar prejudice to what The Order has against the avatar."

"Who is the avatar anyways?" Rafai asked,

"I know her," Zak replied, and then lowered her voice so that only he could hear her. "I _am _her."

Rafai said nothing for a while.

"So _that's_ why you know so much about the prejudice people have against other people that are more powerful than them?" he asked,

"Aye," Zak replied, "and you believe me, claiming to be the avatar is not something I'd lie about."

"Oh," Rafai remarked, "I just took your word for it anyways."

"Either way," Zak responded, "power is a terrible thing. Those who do not have it lust after it, and those who have it understand how terrible too much of it can be. That poor girl probably knows it better than I do. Her power's going to kill her..."

"That's terrible," Rafai replied, "is there anything that can be done to save her?"

Zak didn't tell him this, but Rafai's naiveté was showing. He generally trusted people with what they said unless it sounded too far-out.

"I'm not sure," Zak replied, "I'd personally say that she needs to learn control of her chi flow, in which case I would send her to the Northern Water Tribe. Regardless, I'm not in charge of what she wants to do, so I'm not going to tell her. You can suggest it if you want."

"I want to find her first," Rafai remarked, and therefore the two of them continued their search until they found her. All they had to do was walk a little ways out of town, and they found her in one of her usual places of "being-aloneness". She was crying.

"That disgusts me," Rafai remarked before they reached her—she was not aware of their presence; "I might not be the wisest person in the world, but how can people not see chi benders as human? She has her own emotions just like the rest of us."

"I know that," Zak replied, "either way, I'm not the best at comforting people, and Tenoko did tip me that you were her boyfriend, so..."

Rafai went pink, and then wondered how Zak knew Tenoko.

"Let's just say we've known each other a while," Zak replied, "but either way, you need to take it from here."

"Katara," he asked, slowly moving towards her. Katara was still crying, and didn't make any sign that she had hard him.

"Katara," he said again, "sorry about what I said. I didn't know you didn't like it. I just said the wrong words."

"What would you know," she snapped indignantly, "you and Zak are normal people. You don't want to be anywhere near one of those freak benders. They're not people, they're just menaces."

"w-what;" Rafai exclaimed, "When did I say—I never said that, Katara. What are you talking about?"

"You're not "my kind"," Katara replied, "I'm not important—I'm just lesser than the rest of you normal people."

"Katara, don't do this," Rafai said firmly, "look, I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't know it offended you so much. I didn't mean it to offend. I just forgot what the term was called and so my mind brought up what it thought would be the next best alternative."

"Sorry," Katara replied, still sniffling slightly, "it's just—I hate when people say that. It makes me feel so out of place—like I don't even belong in this world."

"Katara, just calm down, alright;" Rafai pleaded, "you have friends, and they're not about to abandon you in your time of need. That's what I'm here for, Katara. That's what Zak is here for."

This was where Zak stepped forward.

"You're a special kid, Katara," she said, "that's why I of all people am willing to help you. I usually don't do that with people."

"It's just..." Katara stammered, "I miss my family. My dad told me that when I got older he was going to take me here—show me all of the things that make the Fire Nation sound like paradise. He told me all sorts of stories—things that made a little girl fantasize and eagerly await the day when she would be old enough to go..."

"I'm sorry," Rafai remarked, "I wish there was some thing that I could do to help you there; but I'm only human—just like you."

Now this was a morale booster for young Katara.

"You," she said to him, slowly turning to face him, "are one of very few people who will actually call me that."

However, Rafai was slightly confused.

"Call you what," he asked curiously.

"Human," Katara replied bluntly. "Like I said; the prejudice that is held against me is rampant. I hate it so much."

"I know," Rafai remarked, "it must be hard. Tell me though, Katara. What do you like? What sort of things do you enjoy?"

"I enjoy serenity," Katara replied, "peace and quiet—places where there are no other people. I like being alone, particularly in colder climates. I don't like the heat very much, because I get hot too easily."

"Well, then I think we're in the wrong place," Rafai chuckled, "The Fire Nation is generally a pretty sizzling place in the summer time."

"Oh," Katara remarked, "alright then."

She paused. "Either way, I need to find a way to blend in, right?"

"Right you are," Zak replied, stepping forward, "let's go."

Katara looked at Rafai, who nodded, indicating that he trusted Zak. Katara wasn't too easy about suddenly trusting her, but she did trust Rafai, and therefore if Rafai trusted her, then Katara would too—for now at least.

Zak led them to a decent-sized house in an everyday residential area of the city. It wasn't a glamorous mansion, but it certainly wasn't a run-down shack either. It was a middle-upper class home, and was obviously big enough for the three of them.

Zak disappeared and came back, carrying red clothes in her arms.

"These are yours," she remarked, "try them on. I guarantee that you won't be found."

Katara was looking at the clothing that Zak had just tossed her. It was a complete outfit [for any of Katara's old things would be out of place with it], and of course, it was red. It looked comfortable to Katara, but she didn't like that her midriff would be showing.

"What is this?" she asked, also curious to know why it was supposedly so "foolproof". Katara was not known for believing things without questioning them first. This was no exception.

"You've heard of the 100-year war, right?" Zak asked her,

"Aye," Katara replied, "parts of it. I'm not much of a reader if you know what I mean, seeing as I can't."

"The avatar's girlfriend wore something similar," Zak replied, "in fact; I think the only real difference is that this one is strapless. Moreover, she was a waterbender. If a girl from the Water Tribes could blend in with the blue eyes and the dark skin, you could pull the stunt off with no effort, kid. She had your name, even."

Katara took all of this in without a word. Shrugging, she decided to take her chances, and so came out a few minutes later in her "disguise".

"Now what?" she asked curiously;

"Now," Zak replied, "you get some rest. You look tired."

And so she did. As she drifted off to sleep, various things were flowing through her mind. Maybe Rafai was right; maybe Zak could in fact be trusted. At this point, she had put herself yet again in the hands of fate and figured that she'd let it decide what happened from there.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

While Katara slept, Zak and Rafai got to talking. Zak was mostly curious to find out why Tenoko had put him "in charge" of Katara after their gang split up. She seemed aware that Tenoko was a pirate too.

"Well," Rafai stammered, "I guess it was because I was her closest friend"

Zak chuckled. "Boyfriend, eh?" she remarked,

"That was never entirely clear," Rafai replied, "I mean; I don't know what she thinks of me. I'm pretty sure she's never really had any friends in her life, and so I'm not sure if she's thinking it's a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship or just 'really close' friends."

Zak glanced over to where Katara was sleeping. She was snoring; an attribute that the both of them thought was slightly unusual, especially for a teenage girl. Of course, considering that Katara had many, many attributes that were not normal for a teenaged girl, they simply shrugged it off.

"What do you know about her, exactly," Zak asked, "I need to know about her if what I intend to do is going to work out."

"What do you intend to do," Rafai asked,

"Spread lies about her," Zak replied; she worded it like this just so she could see Rafai's reaction. Of course, he looks angry, and ready to side with Katara. Rafai might have seemed slightly naïve at first, but he was not a young man to anger.

"chill ax," Zak laughed, holding him back, for he had charged at Zak after she had said those words, "when I say I'm going to spread lies about her, I'm talking about the good kinds—the kind that will keep the kid hidden, so she doesn't have to be running all the time. Even I heard about what she said about the Fire Nation, and so we're going to make sure that while she's here, that she is happy—or, at least, happier than she usually is. This is why I need to know what I asked you."

"She's difficult to understand," Rafai replied, "She has unstable emotions, just like she has unstable power."

"What makes her happy," Zak asked,

"She likes to talk," Rafai replied, "I reckon that poor girl hasn't had a proper conversation in her life before Captain Dragmire took her into our crew. She loves it when people understand her and what she goes through. She also seems to love anything that can help her relax."

"Like a massage," Zak asked, curious to know what exactly Rafai meant by his somewhat obscure statement.

"Aye," Rafai replied, glancing over at Katara again. She was still asleep, fully dressed. "You don't plan on giving her one or something, do you?"

"Nah," Zak chuckled, "I might organize for her to get one, but no, massaging is not something I do. I beat people up instead."

Rafai chuckled. "Alright then," he remarked.

"Aye," Zak replied, "so how has she been?"

"She's probably in one of her less positive mood swings at this point," Rafai replied, looking at Katara's sleeping face. Her eyes were still closed, but she was jolting slightly. She looked uncomfortable. "I wouldn't try to reason with her if she snaps—she just needs someone to balance her energy."

"I'm the Avatar," Zak laughed, "this kid can't be THAT powerful; right?"

"Don't ever say that to her," Rafai warned, "she HATES when people underestimate her power."

"Pride complex much," Zak exclaimed,

"No," Rafai replied, "it's that misunderstanding thing again. I don't think the rest of us can quite comprehend just how much energy she has to try and harness to keep her poor self alive."

"Power is a terrible thing," Zak remarked, "chi-dominant benders have it really rough in today's society... and then we get an extreme case like Katara's, and the poor thing can't get two minutes to her self. It's no wonder she likes being alone. Was she like that on Tenoko's ship?"

"Aye," Rafai replied, "even when she wasn't mad at us for whatever reason, there'd be times when she just wanted to be alone."

Rafai paused for a moment and then looked Zak right in the eye.

"Why are you so interested in her?" he asked, "Why do you want to make her happy so much, as to go to these types of lengths?"

"Because she deserves to be happy," Zak replied, "she doesn't need all these people after her. It's just something I try to do with any troubled person I meet. Chi-Dominant Benders are generally disliked by society, and, like in Katara's case, many people don't even think they're human. It's really a nasty case of prejudice if you ask me, and I hate it.

Of course, some usually have their families, but to know that there was such a powerful firebender at that age on the loose, just wanting to try and control her power without people after her; it made something click inside me, Rafai. I'm generally not the nicest person around, but I don't like seeing people hated because of their power."

"Why is that?" Rafai asked curiously,

"because that's my story," Zak replied bluntly, and then changed the subject, "so since I'm sure you two are not going to be living with me forever, make sure you take good care of that girl when you leave—or even when you go out and about."

"How long are you keeping us here?" Rafai asked,

"Keeping you here," Zak exclaimed, "I'm not. If you want to leave, you know where the door is. I was merely offering you my hospitality. Either way, Katara will likely enjoy the Fire Nation, so if you're trying to make her happy, I'd recommend spending a decent amount of time here."

"I can do that," Rafai responded, "I just don't want her getting captured."

"Neither do I," Zak replied, "she's dangerously powerful, and they could use her if they know how to get to her."

"How would they do that?"

"Family," Zak replied, "or at least; that's the word going around in The Avatar Guard. Hopefully The Order of the Avatar Slayer hasn't figured that out yet. Either way, if they got hold of any of Katara's family members, they could force Katara to do whatever they wanted her to. Threatening her with death isn't the answer; threatening her family with death is."

"How do you know this?" Rafai asked, slightly skeptical,

"I have my sources," Zak replied, "and Tenoko is one of them. Either way, I have some business to tend to, so you two sleep tight, and Rafai, I would not recommend taking Katara's pants off after I'm gone."

Zak was only joking, for this was part of her type of humor, but Rafai felt embarrassed. He hadn't actually done that to her, and both of them knew it. Regardless, Zak just laughed.

"Alright then," Rafai laughed, deciding to try and play along, "I'll take them off before you're gone."  
He moved his hands towards Katara's waist, and Katara stirred. Zak laughed, and she left; Katara was just rolling over.

Once Zak was gone though, Rafai did not even touch Katara's pants, let alone remove them. He simply sat down and eventually fell asleep as well in a chair next to Katara's bed.

It was a while before either of them woke up, but when they did, Katara felt almost refreshed. She was a bit hot, and Rafai, who woke up around the same time, noticed it.

"Your stomach is almost as red as your top," he remarked, looking at it, [after all, with clothing that revealed that much of her midriff, it was hard NOT to glace at it every now and again] "and your face is even darker than it—are you alright?"

"Aye, I'm fine," Katara replied, "just hot—I need to let some energy out. Do you have any ideas that won't have me stand out?"

Rafai smiled [although he had been exaggerating Katara's redness a bit]

"Aye," he replied, "I do. I've been to this part of the Fire Nation before, and I know of a place that I named Sunset Beach for a legit reason. It's secluded, and I have yet to see evidence of anyone else being there but me. Come on, let's go. It's almost sundown anyways."

Zak was right about Katara's outfit making her look much less suspicious. With it, combined with her amber eyes and firebending [which she did actually start playing with just for the sake of using chi energy] she wasn't given any dark looks like she was before. She just looked like another common Fire Nation girl. For that matter, she even got a few remarks from strangers telling her that her outfit was cute. Katara was slightly irritable, but luckily Rafai was able to explain his version of why Katara was in a dismal mood.

Eventually, Rafai showed Katara the place he spoke about. It was secluded by trees, and looked out towards the horizon where the sun was beginning to set.

"Fire at will," Rafai replied, and he stepped back.

Katara's fire was huge, powerful, and as usual, looked like it was hurting her. Nevertheless, Katara was persistent, and eventually she depleted her excess chi energy as well as most of her regular physical energy. She flopped backwards into the sand onto her back, and didn't move. She was breathing heavily, but she was smiling.

"Finished?" he asked, bending down to look her in the eyes.

"Aye," Katara replied wearily, "but I'm too tired to even move."

"Then don't," Rafai replied bluntly, "just lie down—relax."

"What about you?" she asked curiously,

"I'll just sit here and be beside you," he replied, moving his hand onto her stomach and gently rubbing it, "we have nowhere to go as long as we're here—no one knows about this place."

Katara closed her eyes and relaxed. Rafai by no means knew how to give a professional massage, but Katara loved the feeling of his hands on her belly. Her mind began flowing with various thoughts about what happened, what she had been thinking of, what her dreams had involved, and what she planned to do while she was in the Fire Nation.

Rafai chuckled, seeing the happy smile on Katara's face.

"You look comfortable," he laughed,

"I am," Katara replied, "I could fall asleep right here."

"then what's stopping you," Rafai asked, gently squeezing her belly, but not getting close to anything Katara didn't generally reveal to the public, [for anyone knows that certain types of muscle squeezing generally feel good, even if it's not a real "massage"] "I mean; I'll wake you up if something happens; and it's not like we have anything else to do right now, right?"

Katara sighed happily. With how often she was using her body, be it for bending, training, or whatever she pleased, she always enjoyed having someone there to relax her muscles. Moreover, the sand she was lying on was also very comfortable, and the quiet whisper of the calm ocean breeze blew across her exposed skin, leaving a rather pleasant feeling in its wake. The quiet rushing of the waves soothed her ears, and closing her eyes and relaxing helped rest her eyes.

Eventually, Katara really did fall asleep, and it was pitch dark before Rafai decided that she wasn't going to wake up. Deciding that it would be ignorant of him to trust that absolutely no one had seen them [or that absolutely no one had somehow seen Katara's fire over the ocean] she hoisted Katara over his shoulders and began making his way back to Zak's place. Katara remained asleep the entire time.

Rafai, deciding that he was tired, and knowing that Katara was by no means helpless, decided to catch himself some shut-eye as well, and so he went to sleep, snuggled close to her.

They both woke up the next morning at about the same time, and most likely for the same reason as well—Katara's body heat had built up again. After all, it was indifferent to time. Katara, assuming Rafai was still asleep, decided to go look for a secluded place to let it out as not to draw attention to her self. Rafai followed her.

Again evading detection from Order extremists trying to capture her [in reality, there were not as many as Katara thought; either way, she did not trust anyone], Katara made her way back to Zak's place rather pleased with herself, albeit weary. Rafai was behind her.

"So," he said, "how do you like the Fire Nation?"

"It's nice," Katara replied, "and I'm glad we trusted Zak."

"As am I," Rafai remarked, "see Katara, there really are some good people out there."

Katara did not respond to this statement. Instead, she simply smiled.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

After a little initial concern, Katara was eventually able to 'settle' in the Fire Nation, living an almost normal life. She did have to be watched over by either Zak or Rafai, and of course, her power didn't stop. The fact that Zak was the avatar though meant that she was also a firebending master; and that served to Katara's advantage. Zak was an effective teacher, despite seeming like the laid-back type. Moreover, she did not put up with Katara's anger, and this helped in the long run.

Zak's teaching though, was very unique. Zak did not just focus her on learning the techniques of firebending, but she also used waterbending, earthbending and airbending moves to teach her. Granted, Katara was only a firebender, not the avatar, and so she could not bend water, earth, or air, but various moves taught Katara how to use her chi energy to her advantage.

Granted, it was not something that a 14-year-old girl could learn overnight, but it helped in various ways as she progressed. Apart from training, [and the necessities of life] Katara spent her time drawing. The longer she spent in the Fire Nation, the more she became comfortable with it, and there were a few months spent there in peace. Her confidence went up enough to the point where she'd sometimes be seen wearing her old things instead of the refugee outfit Zak had gotten her [although deep down, she actually had become secretly fond of it], and she was happy during this time.

Of course, her emotional swings didn't just disappear, but that's what Zak's teaching was for. One time, she was in a particularly bad mood when Zak played a friendly joke one her that involved getting her wet. Katara overreacted this time, and so Zak stopped her from going nuts.

"I'm not in the mood," Katara snapped. Zak didn't ask why she was in a bad mood, but over the last few months, she had discovered Katara's emotional patterns and did learn that they were not just random, though they were rather erratic.

"Don't use that tone with me," Zak snapped, her pride kicking in, "remember whose house you're living in."

"Leave me alone," Katara snapped, "I have power to try and harness."

"And that's why I'm here," Zak replied, "To help you learn to control it, damn it. If you're attempting to challenge me, I suggest you listen to a little voice of reason before doing so."

"Voice of reason," Katara muttered darkly, "that was my brother."

Zak paused, watching as Katara slowly turned around.

"I once had a brother," Zak remarked, "His name was Yasuda. Be grateful that your brother loves you, because mine didn't. None of my family did, and do you know why?"

"Why," Katara snapped, "because you were an arrogant, annoying show-off who cared about no one else?"

This had set Zak off, as she was about to tell a sensitive story. She nailed Katara painfully in her lower jaw with an uppercut, dislocating the latter's jaw. Blood started dripping out Katara's mouth, and Katara flew into a fiery rage.

"You don't know me well enough, Katara," Zak replied, "You don't even know my real name. You react too quickly to things, girl. Go mull it over, and maybe after you do, I'll fix your jaw."

Katara began shouting things at Zak, but because of the pain in her jaw, and the blood coming out of her mouth, it was hard to tell what exactly they were, and so Zak just chuckled. She knew it was just one of Katara's mood swings, and she couldn't do anything about them, and so she let Katara try to learn to control her emotions.

Using a simple waterbending move that encased Katara's [rather exposed] body in ice, Zak rendered Katara immobile. Only her head and her fingertips were sticking out of the ice, and she was fuming furiously, trying to claw and bite herself out of the ice.

"Ghee Bach Hear," Katara shouted, her jaw still dislocated, and to her slight surprise, Zak did. Katara thought she was going to let her out, but she was wrong. All Zak did was push Katara's jaw back into place and use a healing technique on it, and the she walked off.

"When you simmer down I'll let you out," she said, and she started heading back to the house. It was a good ways away, and Zak could not see Katara from the house, and Katara couldn't really see the house from where she was frozen. She was screaming and yelling and spewing fire from her mouth up into the air, for even her head movement was limited. She screamed and yelled manically, but to no avail.

Zak came out several more times, but in Katara's anger, she did not want Zak doming near her.

"Aren't you cold?" she asked curiously, "I mean: you're wearing a top that reveals your midriff underneath that ice block for crying out loud"

"I'm not," Katara snapped, "I'm never cold."

Incidentally, this was the truth. Zak had expected at least her teeth to be clattering, but she seemed unfazed by the ice. Apparently the heat from her bending energy did an amazing job at keeping her warm, or, in most cases, very, very hot.

"Do you want me to let you out now?" she asked; "because I'm going to be gone until the evening if I don't." However, Katara was still angry at Zak, for she was angry at everything.

"Leave me," Katara replied, "I don't want anyone like you close to me."

"Suit yourself," Zak remarked, "I'll be glad to let you out and just drop the whole thing. Remember Katara, I'm your friend, not your enemy."

Katara always abandoned reason when she was angry though, and therefore this was no exception. As a direct result, Zak left her there, and would free her later that evening.

While she and Rafai were out exploring the town though, Katara received an unexpected guest. It was a boy, obviously in his mid-teen years. Katara didn't trust him, because by default, she trusted no one. However, his words were smooth.

"What happened to you," he asked, gently,

"I got mad, and someone froze me," Katara replied bluntly, not wanting to get into the details, "and I hate my life, and I don't care if I get out of here or not."

"Well," the boy replied, "I'm a waterbender, and so breaking you out of the ice only take a few hits here, and here."

The boy jabbed at several points in the ice, and it shattered. If Katara had been happier, she would have thanked him, but apparently the boy did not get offended at her lack of thanks.

"The name's Auka," the boy remarked, "Auka Koji. What's yours?"

"Katara," Katara replied bluntly, as she didn't ever disguise her name. Her name was one of her favorite features, which might have explained why the young woman hated nicknames. "Katara Altina II."

"The Chi-Dominant Bender," Auka exclaimed; as Katara looked at him, he looked to be about 16.

"Aye," Katara replied, "the "freak" bender, or whatever those damn people choose to call me these days."

"You're too cute to be a freak," Auka remarked, "and I don't even know you. You just have control problems with your emotions."

"How long were you watching me," Katara exclaimed,

"I've been in the shadows for several hours now," Auka replied, "I was curious to see if the rumors I had heard about a Chi-Dominant Bender were true. Why haven't people come for you yet?"

"What do you mean," Katara asked curiously,

"The Order of the Avatar Slayer is looking for you, Katara," Auka warned, "They want you for the war. They know you're here."

"How would they know that," Katara asked,

"The fire," Auka replied, "anyone knows who that is, as you're one of the only people capable of using that much bending energy at one time."

"Damn it," Katara swore, and Auka slipped behind her.

"What are you doing," she asked suspiciously,

"nothing yet," he replied truthfully, stepping up behind Katara, placing his arms around her, his hands landing on her soft, exposed stomach, "but I'm about to turn you in."

Katara barely had enough time to react, but by the time she did, Auka had snapped his fingers, an apparently an accomplice was awaiting this, for Katara suddenly heard (and felt the effects of) a loud "thud", before everything went black.

Katara woke up in an underground chamber of sorts, chained to a table-like platform. She was in a spread-eagled position, leaving her very vulnerable, and her clothing, which revealed much of her midriff, didn't make her feel too much more comfortable. She was relieved that no one had stripped her during her unconsciousness.

Katara wasn't furious at the world now, she was furious at Auka, and at The Order of the Avatar Slayer. The rumors that Zak had heard about them recruiting teenagers really were true. She initially felt sorry for Auka for being seduced, but this wouldn't last long.

"So this is what you wanted from me," Katara snapped, seeing Auka's form enters the room; she jerked at her bonds, but couldn't break them. They limited movement, and even Katara needed to move to firebend [except from her mouth, but that would only go up]

"No," Auka replied, "no, what I wanted was to do this,"

He bent over and began massaging Katara's stomach. What Katara didn't know was that he had some sort of substance on his hands that made things seem less clear and dreamier. He wasn't likely going to strip her (though he might have thought it), but he was deeply massaging her stomach, and he did want something else out of her before The Order's minions got her.

"What are you doing," Katara snapped, feeling the moist substance being smeared all over her midriff. Despite this, it actually felt pretty good. The only thing that annoyed Katara was that the hands there belonged to a stranger. Whatever he was doing though was relaxing her stomach muscles very well.

"Getting a little bit of cash for turning a cute girl in," Auka replied, "but not before I have a little fun with her."

Katara looked furious. This wasn't The Order's base by any means, but Katara knew that it couldn't be good. She tensed up, and would make sure she did everything in her limited power to ensure that her clothing stayed on. However, Auka did not seem interested in removing her clothing at the moment. Right now, he was leaning over her face, his hands still relaxing her stomach.

Katara glared at him,

"Don't you dare..." she snapped, seeing what was coming.

"Oh, I dare," Auka laughed, "and if you like it as much as you liked my stomach massage, you'll like this."

Before Katara could respond, Auka had attached his lips to Katara, and made out in a very passionate manner. There was little actual 'intimacy' (Katara had a lot to do with that fact) because they weren't in love, but either way, apparently the boy had had some skill, for he seemed to be leading Katara pleasantly along.

Nevertheless, she was making noises that clearly indicated that she didn't like it and wanted him to pull back and disconnect their mouths. However, with her mouth occupied (even if it was against her will), she couldn't say anything. Her grunting noises continued, but this only made Auka prolong it. In fact, he climbed on top of her for the full effect. Poor Katara, rendered helpless in the position she was in, had no choice but to continue "making out" with him. He however, clearly loved it, and didn't have a regard for Katara's dislike of it. In fact, the more she tried to end it, the more "into" it he got.

She was acquiring his taste in her mouth, and she was clearly getting angrier by the second. Auka actually let out a few muffled giggles as he noticed her getting angrier and angrier; because he knew she was helpless to stop him. After about 20 minutes, he finally pulled back.

"Don't worry," he laughed, seeing how furious she was, "I'm not going to give you up to The Order. You're too cute for that."

"Don't you touch my mouth EVER AG—" Katara started, but Auka cut her off again, attaching his mouth to hers, despite her failed attempts to break her bonds, push him off of her, or get his mouth to detach from hers and stop his tongue from getting to know her tonsils better. She wasn't sure how long he planned to keep her here, but she was clearly aware that she was going to be miserable as long as she was here.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Katara eventually escaped from Auka's 'grasp; but a bit of her dignity and innocence had been left there [though her chastity was still intact]. Using her firebending prowess to her advantage, she had made her escape. She was not sure that Auka had survived her attack, but based on how powerful it was, she doubted that he did. Regardless, she didn't care. She was angry, and she wanted to be left alone. She started walking—with no particular destination in mind—she just wanted to walk.

She did stop by Zak's house, and was very pleased to find no one there. She used this as an opportunity to change back into her original clothes, but after that, she just grabbed her things and started walking.

Once again, Katara was bound to learn the hard way that getting angry and storming off almost always got her into trouble. This time though, she got all the way out of the city with no trouble. She walked through the uninhabited areas all the way down to the beach, where she just continued walking as if she was looking for something. All she could see, however, was the sunset.

Eventually, Katara realized that she had lots of excess Chi energy, and so she figured letting some of it out was never a period wasted, and so she did, but she kept walking, only stopping periodically.

To her surprise though, she found Zak practicing bending a ways down the beach. She was more surprised than anything, especially because she was seeing Zak bending all four elements as opposed to just one. Zak was the avatar.

Incidentally, Zak looked a bit surprised with Katara appearing as well.

"What are you doing here," they both asked almost simultaneously, and similarly, they both answered the same way.

"Bending," they both replied; "how did you get here?"

"I just wandered in," Katara replied,

"I always come here," Zak replied, "it's away from everyone else, and I can use my bending moves without people knowing that I'm the avatar."

"Wait," Katara remarked, "if you don't want people to know you're the avatar, then why did you just tell me?"

"'coz I trust you," Zak replied, "and you don't seem like the type who would blab it out—unless you were bribed with being returned to your family or something."

Katara didn't reply because she knew Zak was right. She decided to change the subject slightly though.

"Is your name really Zak," Katara asked,

"Sort of," Zak replied, "real name's Zakura; Zakura Ishiko. A lot of people call me Zak for short though."

"Oh," Katara replied, "I never really liked nicknames. It was just never my thing—I always loved my name."

"It IS a nice name," Zakura replied, "it's the same name that one of my past incarnation's companions once had."

"And it's my mother's name," Katara added, "but it was my dad that gave it to me. That's why it's special to me—it's the one thing I have of his that I can never lose."

"There are a lot of things I can't lose," Zakura remarked, chuckling, "fights are one of them, my awesomeness is another..."

"Shut up." Katara remarked, though she cracked a smile.

"Hey," Zakura remarked, "just because I named a few perks about being the avatar doesn't mean that it's all fun and games."

"Aye," Katara remarked, "I understand what you mean. It must be so frustrating to be so misunderstood; to be away from your family for whatever reason; to have had so many hardships growing up; for no one else to realize what kind of power you have; to have to disguise yourself, be it in name or appearance, in order to not get caught—"

She paused, and Zakura simply smiled.

"It seems that we have a lot more in common than first meets the eye, Katara Altina II," she remarked, "look at your life: you were separated from your family; you're misunderstood; you've clearly had a hard life; no one else, not even the avatar herself, can quite comprehend just what kind of power you deal with, or how much even; you've had to disguise yourself even amongst other firebenders even."

She paused and then chuckled.

"Though I will admit," she remarked, "that you look cute in that Fire Nation outfit."

"Well," Katara replied, "I did kind of like it; but I think it shows off a little too much skin."

"Well," Zakura shrugged, "it's not like anyone is forcing you to wear it or anything. If you don't like it, don't wear it. It's a simple concept."

"It just..." Katara stammered, "It just doesn't feel right—nothing in my life does any more."

"Katara," Zakura replied, "right and wrong are only illusions of the mind. Don't ever let people decide what you can and can't do. Besides, this is the Fire Nation. It's not like there's anything out of the ordinary with it. Heck, even you wearing the clothes you are now aren't THAT unusual. Aye, they might be better for a guy, but who's here to care about that sort of thing? It's trivial. As the avatar and one of the most powerful benders in the world, you and I have more important things to worry about."

"Like what," Katara asked, "and I'm definitely not one of the most powerful benders in the world—I've got no control."

"I never said you were one of "the best" though," Zakura replied, "I said you are among the most powerful, because you are. Skilled or unskilled, you are still incredibly powerful; gifted too, I might add."

"I just want to be left alone," Katara remarked, "I don't know how many times I need to say it—it's my goal though."

"Mine as well," Zakura replied, "but The Order is relentless, as you've surely noticed by now."

"Aye," Katara replied, "The Order of the Avatar Slayer is a very well-organized group with a solid intention, and good means of doing what they do. They're strong, they're effective, and they're generally smart as well. That is the issue at hand."

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Zakura replied, "and so, what we need to do is get you a mode of transportation that does not need other people—something you could operate on your own."

"Like what," Katara asked, "I might be named after a legendary waterbender, but I'm no waterbender myself. I'm terrified of it."

"Like a war balloon or something," Zakura chuckled, "you use fire to operate it, and most of them aren't designed for more than 1 or 2 people anyways. The only issue is that I know you're afraid of heights."

"And yet, I'm not afraid of death," Katara remarked, "so if someone DID shoot me down or something I'd deal with it. Heck, I've broken myself so many times over falling. My hatred of heights should be no surprise."

Zakura smiled wider this time and looked at Katara. Naturally, Katara looked down, as she never looked anyone straight in the eyes, but Zakura was undeterred.

"See," she remarked, "I knew you were more mature than your old self; its better when you're not getting angry and throwing fire at everything. You're a nice person deep down, Katara. If someone as rough and indifferent as my self can see it, it should be obvious."

"I like talking with you, Zakura," Katara remarked, "you're one of the few people who can understand the things I'm going through—the stress it brings me; that sort of thing."

"Its part of what I'm here for," Zakura replied, "ultimately, my goal as Avatar will be to bring justice back into the world. The only way I'll be able to stand up to the might of Xin Shing and his minions is if I'm strong enough. You came here for the same reason I did, Katara—to train. What do you say we have a little game or two?"

"You should know me by now," Katara smiled, "I'm always up for anything that can help me unload some of this chi energy."

And with that, the avatar and the firebender commenced their spar. All in all, it was a very intense match, as Zakura was powerful and hit hard, but Katara was swift and had amazing reflexes. Combined with her massive power, she put up a decent fight against Zakura except when her lack of control got in the way. This, combined with Zakura's age, experience, and bending disciplines, was what led her to "defeating" Katara, but for a 14-year-old girl, Katara did pretty well.

Hoisting Katara into her arms, Zakura began swiftly making her way back to her home. Katara was barely conscious, and looked like if anything, that she was going to fall asleep.

Upon their return, Katara had in fact fallen asleep. Zakura left her alone, and went out into the town. She intended to get Katara a means of transportation, like she promised she would. Why the avatar would randomly decide to do this for a girl she didn't know too well, was unknown. Zakura's intentions were never clear, but she seemed to always know what she was doing.

As a result, when Katara woke up, Zakura was waiting for him.

"Sleep well," she asked,

"Aye," Katara replied, and then sort of just glanced at Zakura. She wasn't sure why she was sitting there as if she was waiting for Katara.

"Umm," she stammered, "did you need me for something?"

"Aye, in a way," Zakura replied, "you know how I was talking about getting you a war balloon for seemingly no good reason?"

"You said that," Katara chuckled,

"Well, in a way I did," Zakura replied, "but aye, I did say I would get you one, and I did. I guess what I really need to do is tell you why."

"Alright," Katara shrugged, never really being too involved, "why?"

"Because war is coming," Zakura replied, "and Tenoko isn't going to be here to take you somewhere else."

"Where will she be?"

"She'll likely be fighting in the war or finding out what has become of Azula and her gang."

"Azula and her gang are gone? What happened?"

"I'm not sure. Tenoko is still looking in on it. To make a long story short though, there are people in this approaching army looking for you. You need to get out of here."

"I don't want to run," Katara declared, "I want to fight them off."

"Katara," Zakura warned, "I'm the avatar. I'm an expert at detecting people's chi flows and the likes. You're not ready to face them unless you want to face defeat. You're technically much too young to be fighting anyways, and you know it, I know it, and so do they."

"Where do I go then," Katara sighed, accepting the truth, "I don't want to have to keep running. I hate this war, and I want to do whatever it takes to end it."

"Make for the City of the Red Maiden," Zakura replied, "its east of here."

"But what will I do from there," Katara asked, "I don't have anyone there. I don't have any money."

"Luckily," Zakura smiled, "I've got more money than I'd ever need. Take this, use it well."

Zakura handed Katara a huge sack of coins. She knew that Katara had never had much money, so she figured that Katara would in fact spend it wisely, and figured correctly.

"Of course, they've got some good arenas down in that area as well," Zakura added, "and they pay well. You would do well in some of them I think; you're talented, and an excellent fighter. You're just too young. No girl your age should be forced to fight a battle."

Katara looked at Zakura in the eye for a moment before she turned away shyly, as she always did.

"Alright," she stammered, "I—I trust you."

"I have a thing for children," Zakura replied, "and I hate when people try to exploit them. That's why for now, Katara, I want you far away from this war. In the meantime, I'm going to try and find your brother."

"You know where he is?" Katara exclaimed, her face lighting up,

"Not entirely," Zakura replied, "but I have an idea, and I think he might be in the middle of a battle."

Katara didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry, Katara." Zakura said,

"It's not your fault," Katara replied, "It's mine. All of this was my fault. If I had been normal, my family wouldn't have been ripped apart in the first place. If I had been normal, we'd still be living happily back at the Water Tribe. If I had been normal, DADDY WOULDN'T BE DEAD!!"

Zakura noticed Katara's anger rapidly build up to the point where she broke down in frustration, and was soon sobbing.

"Katara," said Zakura, putting her arms around Katara, "this may kill me in the process, but damn it, we're going to get you and your family back together. I swear it."

Katara was still crying. She didn't know what else to do or say.


End file.
